Winning Her Love
by Hogshire
Summary: What do you get when you cross a temperamental redhead with commitment issues and a ravenhaired Quidditch jock who is VERY persistent? I don't know myself, but I guess we'll find out together in the best Harry Potter romance yet!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _Heyyy! This is Hogshire speaking. Man is this exciting. First FanFiction //screams//!!!! Hope you love it!!!_

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**Chapter 1: Change? **

Lily stood on Platform nine and three-quarters, her long, red hair tied up in a messy ponytail that leaned to the left side of her head as her startling emerald green eyes searched the station for her two best friends. The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming red steam engine was pulled in at the platform. Lily's mood brightened at the sight of the beloved train, because the Hogwarts Express meant Hogwarts. She loved being a witch, everything about it, but not everyone was in favor of it; her sister despised all things magical. Her parents had always been supportive, but Petunia… not so much.

Lily spotted her friends boarding the train a couple of cars ahead. She ran to catch up with them, but not being as coordinated as others, Lily tripped over a trunk and found herself on the ground, landing in a mixture of gravel and owl feathers.

"Are you okay?" She heard a familiar voice say, but at the moment she couldn't place who it was.

Lily grabbed the stranger's hand, not caring who it was and just wanting to get on her feet. The boy pulled her to her feet and she found herself staring into deep, hazel eyes, wide with concern. Realizing who those eyes belonged to, Lily's emerald eyes narrowed with anger and disgust.

"I could've gotten up myself, Potter!" She snarled at the one guy she loathed more than anyone. "You just never gave me the chance." She quickly grabbed her trunk and started to make her way to the train.

"Is that any way to treat the _Head Boy_, Evans?" James said rather cockily, a smirk spreading across his face.

Lily froze. _Were James Potter and Head Boy just used in the same sentence? He couldn't be! It's impossible! He wasn't even a prefect!_ She slowly turned to face James, and sure enough, pinned on his chest, a Head Boy Badge gleamed in the light.

Lily refused to believe it. "Potter, stop kidding around and give Remus his badge back," she said.

The smirk upon James's face suddenly made Lily feel very nervous. James ruffled his untidy hair and smiled. Lily slowly turned her gaze to the auburn-haired boy standing behind James.

Sadly, Remus Lupin shook his head, clearly at a loss for words. "Sorry Lily, James is Head Boy," Even before he'd finished speaking, her mouth gaped open.

Lily Evans and James Potter were Heads together?

"Oh, well… I guess I'll see you on the train then, Potter." She was trying to hide the disappointment in her voice as she avoided eye contact.

"Well… that went well!" Sirius Black commented sarcastically once Lily was out of earshot.

"Are you kidding?" James scoffed. "Did you see her face? She's completely disappointed that I'm Head with her. What do I have to do for her to stay in my presence for more than three minutes?"

"Come on mate," Sirius put his left arm around James's shoulder. "What did you really expect?"

"I…" James started, but then thought for a moment. "I don't know. This is my last year to finally get her to give me a chance. I love her."

A small, high-pitched squeak suddenly came out of the last Marauding member.

"Love, Prongs?" Peter Pettigrew asked nervously, "That's big." He took a step toward his friend but tripped in the process, landing face-down on the pavement. James and Sirius helped him up with ease. It was from practice.

"Moony," James said to Remus, "You're the smart one. What should I do?"

"I'm out of advice, guys." Remus, "You'll find that happens after five years of the same situation."

"I have advice!" Sirius announced. The other three raised their eyebrows at him, expectations low. "Forget her. You can have any other girl, Prongs. Let me demonstrate."

Sirius looked around and spotted a sixth year girl passing by them. "Hey!" he shouted at her, then smiled and looked at her with his deep, black eyes. The girl giggle with pleasure and gave him a little wave as she left.

"See?" Sirius turned back to his three friends, "You could do that too! Just pick a girl." He said to James.

"I pick Lily." James stated. Sirius smacked his forehead with his palm.

"James, I suggest you go to the Head's compartment to brief the prefects, I'll go with you." Remus told him, being a prefect since fifth year.

"Alright, let's go." James gave in.

The two left Sirius and Peter standing there.

"He's hopeless." Sirius said to Peter.

--------------

"I saw you five minutes ago, Potter, and you're late?" Lily said, obviously ticked off.

"Sorry Lily!" James said. "I was just –"

"Don't blame him, Lily." Remus said, stepping into the compartment, "We were all talking, lost track of time. Sorry."

Lily eyed both of them, then turned and strode into the prefect carriage. James mouthed thanks to Remus, and they both followed Lily to brief the prefects.

---------------

"Hey guys!" Lily exclaimed as she walked into her friends' compartment and hugged Jill and Sam in turn.

"Lily! We missed you!" Her friends yelled together as they hugged Lily back.

Samantha Brown was, by most guys' standards, the most gorgeous girl in school. She had light, flowing blonde hair that reached to the middle of her back in amazing waves. Her eyes were the brightest blue, and many boys, of all houses, had fallen into their depths. She had a carefree attitude and an optimistic personality.

Jillian Jones was a little more conservative than Sam. She had brown hair that flowed straight to her shoulders and her eyes were dark. She was a little more shy than her other two friends, but once you got to know her, her personality really began to shine.

Lily, Sam, and Jill were inseparable. They had been friends since day one at Hogwarts. They were like the Marauders, in their own way, but because of their friendship than pranks.

Lily took a seat next to Jill and told her friends about Potter becoming Head Boy and her encounter with him on the platform.

"Potter? Head Boy? You cannot be serious!" Sam said.

"It is surprising," said Jill, "I mean, why him? I expected Remus to be Head Boy."

"Me too," groaned Lily in a monotone.

Suddenly, Remus walked into their compartment with a smile on his face. He always got away from his friends for a while to come visit them on the Hogwarts Express.

"Hey Remus," Lily greeted him, "Come sit! How was your summer?"

Lily glanced at her friends. Jill was fixing her hair and Sam was applying an extra coat of lip gloss. Lily knew they both liked Remus. On the train home last year, Jill went off to the bathroom for five minutes. During that time Sam had revealed to Lily that she fancied Remus, though they both knew that Jill had had a crush on him since their first year. Lily thought Jill and Remus were perfect for each other, so she hadn't said anything at the time.

"My summer was fine," Remus said as he sat across from Jill and next to Sam. "I went to Paris with my Mum and Dad." 

"That sounds wonderful." Sam smiled at him.

"I love Paris." Jill said sheepishly, "I went there with my uncle last year."

"Great, isn't it fantastic?" Remus asked, and Jill nodded. "I only went for two weeks though. I spent the rest of the summer with James and Sirius at the Potter's house."

Lily stiffened at the sound of James' name. "That's nice." she stated quickly.

"He's really not that bad Lily." Remus said, though from his tone one could see he had obviously spoken those words a lot. "He hasn't had a date since third year because of you. And you can't say he doesn't care about you."

"Why is that?" Lily questioned.

Remus sighed. "Lily, you know what James said to me, Sirius, and Peter the first time he saw you at the beginning of second year?" Lily shook her head, "He said 'Guys, that girl is special.' We asked him why, and all he had to say was 'She is a good person who makes me feel.' We never asked him why again. We didn't have to."

Lily thought for a moment about what Remus had just said. "I…well then why has he been acting like a jerk?"

"He was immature and selfish. You were a challenge." Remus told her, "That was his one mistake, thinking that you would welcome him with open arms just like very other girl."

"I agree with you there." Lily said.

"Hold on," Remus said, "But your huge mistake was, Lily, is never giving him the slightest chance."

"I agree with Remus on that one," Jill said, "Honestly, Lily, you've never though twice about giving him a chance. The answer was always 'no.'"

"Or the ever popular 'For Merlin's sake leave me the bloody hell alone, Potter!'" Sam put forth, chuckling.

"Okay, I get it," said Lily, "I haven't been very fair to him. But I'll give him a chance, alright?"

"Took you long enough," Remus smiled. "If you ever need any advice on James Potter, I'm you're go-to guy."

"Thanks, Remus." Lily smiled back.

_But can James Potter really change?_

_**A/N:**__ Can he? What do you think? Hi again. Really hope you liked the first chapter. This might have been a little slow, but in the next few chapters we have some romance and some real intense action coming up. squeals -_

**Please review and say what you thought. Everyone needs a confidence boost once in a while. ******

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Moony, Meet Ceiling – Ceiling, Meet Moony**

"We should be arriving soon, James. You'd better go find Lily so that you can make sure everything goes alright on the platform." Remus told James, responsibly.

They were still on the Hogwarts express and the flickering lights of Hogsmeade were fast approaching. They had all dressed in their school robes and James had his "depressed about Lily" face on. He got slightly happier at the sound of spending time with her.

"Okay, guys, see you at the feast!" James called, speeding out of the door

"I sure hope Lily and James get together soon. It just kills me to see him that sad." Sirius said.

"You can't push a girl into something, Padfoot." Remus told him. "Then again, you wouldn't know this, of course. Considering that half of the bloody Hogwarts female population wants to date you."

"You're such a tease!" Sirius said, blushing red.

Remus rolled his eyes just as the train was pulling into Hogsmeade Station.

* * *

"Get into the carriages, everyone!" Lily yelled.

James couldn't help but admire Lily's spirit; she really put her heart into everything she did. Her hair kept swishing in the breeze and James was mesmerized. He helped Lily usher everyone into the carriages and then opened the door for Lily and was surprised that she had nothing to say. Usually, she would snap at him that she could do things for herself and get angry.

The ride to the castle was silent. Lily's cheeks were slightly red and James had to strain not to keep looking at her.

"How was your summer, Evans?" James asked as a feeble attempt at small talk.

"It was okay, I guess. My parents are great, but my sister has always hated me for being a witch." Lily revealed.

"That doesn't seem fair, does it?" James inquired.

"No, it doesn't. Petunia hates anything abnormal. She calls me a freak all the time."

"I'm sorry."

"What can you do?" Lily asked, mostly to herself. "Losing a sister because of who you are."

"She just doesn't understand," James told her.

When the carriage stopped, the two students walked side-by-side to the Great Hall for the sorting and feast. Lily sat between Remus and Jill. James sat across from her.

"Have you noticed anything?" Remus whispered to Lily.

"He hasn't hit on me since we got here, that's a start." Lily whispered back.

They listened to the Sorting Hat's song and applauded whenever a new Gryffindor joined them.

"Students and staff," Dumbledore called out, "Welcome back to Hogwarts! Just some reminders, the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to any student, and Fanged Frisbees are no longer allowed in the common rooms, for the entire list of banned objects, please see Mr. Filch. Also, will the Heads please join me in my office after the feast? Now, don't let me distract you any longer, dig in!"

Sirius started piling food a foot high onto his plate as soon as the food appeared. It wasn't a pleasant sight to watch him eat. Everyone stopped to stare at him tear apart a chicken leg.

"What? I _am _a growing boy you know!" his mouth was full of mashed potatoes at this point.

They shrugged his sloppiness off and continued to eat they're food until they were full. Then the dessert appeared. Sirius groaned with pure joy.

"This is what heaven must be like," he said, and sighed with contentment.

At the end of dessert they were all full and Dumbledore stood up, "I know you all enjoyed that excellent food. Now, would the prefects please escort the first years to their common rooms and would the Heads make their way up to my office? Thank you, and have a good night!"

Lily got up and said, "Come on, James," He was shocked. Did she just call him James? He was always "Potter" to her. Somehow, he was making progress.

They walked out of the Great Hall, in the midst of all the shouting Prefects and gawking first years. They walked quickly to the stone gargoyle, and spoke the password before it. The Gargoyle sprang to life and Lily and James walked up the flight of stairs. At the top Lily politely knocked on the door and a "Come on in," was heard from within the room.

They walked into Dumbledore's office. James sat down like he lived there; he had been there many times before. But Lily couldn't help staring at all the books and gadgets in the room before gingerly taking a seat next to James. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk.

"Hello." He acknowledged them, "As Head Boy and Girl, you two have more responsibilities. First, you must patrol the halls three days a week. It would also be wise to post a schedule for the prefects to patrol as well. You now have the ability to give detentions to any student. For accepting your positions, you will now live in the Heads Dorm. If you'll follow me," Dumbledore got up and walked out the door, James and Lily following close behind.

They walked through the halls and up some stairs, past paintings and statues, until they finally got to a portrait of a Knight. Lily was disappointed as she realized it was Sir Cadogan, the most annoying portrait in the school.

"Sir Cadogan," Dumbledore spoke to the painting, "Lily and James here are the new Head Boy and Girl. I expect you not to drive them too crazy. Have them make a password and then let them in." He turned to face Lily and James, "I hope you enjoy your rooms." The Headmaster gave them one last smile and then left them standing there.

"So," said Lily, "What would you like the password to be, James?" a warm feeling appeared in his chest, she called him James again.

"I got it, how about, James is sexy, but Lily is sexier?" James proposed a lopsided grin on his face.

Lily's eyes narrowed, "Merlin James, what would Dumbledore say?"

"I'm sure he'll get a laugh out if it. Did you hear that Knighty?" James asked Sir Cadogan.

"Yes I did, Sir. Let me welcome you to your humble abode." Sir Cadogan swung open and Lily and James stepped into their new home.

"Bloody hell…" James said as he stepped into the most amazing common room he had ever seen in his life.

A hundred lit candles floated above their heads on the arched ceiling of the circular room. Around the gold-rimmed fireplace was a large, fluffy red couch and two recliners of the same color. The rug was a beige color and it looked amazing with the shadows from the lit candles. On either side of the room were two desks with ink, quills, and spare pieces parchment, the rest of the walls were covered with bookcases filled with every possible book imaginable (much to Lily's delight).

There were three doors on the far wall, the middle lead to a separated bathroom for Lily and James. The room to the right had Lily written on it in beautiful, white letters, and Lily almost ran to see what her room was like. To the left was James' room, and had his name written on it in green.

Lily's room was unimaginable; she had a canopy bed with white lace curtains and a golden bedspread. Her vanity was the purest white and the mirror was shining in the glow of the candlelight. The carpet was deep scarlet and was soft to the touch. This was Lily's dream room.

James was in love with his room almost as much as he was in love with Lily. He had a soft white carpet that seemed to glow. The bed had a scarlet bedspread that seemed to sparkle on its own. His dresser was painted gold with red vines running up the legs. He fell on his bed and thought to himself, _this is going to be a great year._

James then ventured to his side of the bathroom which had mosaic tiles and a white marble bath the size of a hot tub with what looked like a hundred different soapy faucets. Lily's was similar, only with a black marble bath and a white marble floor. He then went back to the common room and laid himself out on one of the recliners. Soon Lily joined him and fell down on the couch.

"Did you see the bathroom?" James asked. Lily nodded, "Amazing, isn't it? I can't imagine using that room for relieving myself!"

"I can not believe this place." Lily said. "It's what I always dreamed my room would be like. It's like the rooms read my mind. It's kind of creepy…"

"I know," James agreed, "Sirius is going to be so jealous of that bathtub." He chuckled.

Lily smiled, and then yawned, "I'm really tired, and we have classes tomorrow. I'm going to go to bed. Good night James." She told him.

"'Night Lily," He said, and walked into his own room.

* * *

The first week of classes passed almost as quickly as they had come.

One night, Lily, Sam, Jill, Remus, Sirius, and James were the only ones in the Gryffindor common room. Peter had a detention with Professor Slughorn for knocking down every ingredient on the potions shelf earlier that day in class. Sam and Jill were finishing up some herbology homework and Sirius was playing with a Fanged Frisbee on the couch.

Remus and Lily were whispering in a corner and James was staring suspiciously at them.

"I don't know, Remus," Lily said, "He's definitely changed since last year though. But I can still see the side of him that's been harassing me for the past five years."

"Well, you can never erase everything about the old James. There'll always be the prankster we all know and despise." Remus said truthfully.

"But," He continued, "If I might add, James seems a hell of a lot happier since you guys haven't been fighting…as much."

Two days earlier, James and Lily ended up being partners in potions. They had gotten into a fight about the right way to shred boomslang skin. They ended up melting their cauldron because they hadn't paid attention to how hot the potion was getting – they were too busy arguing.

"That was so his fault." Lily protested, remembering the potions lesson.

"Sure," Remus smiled.

"Thanks." She told him, and they hugged.

Suddenly, James stomped over to them, "Remus, can we talk?" He said, and Remus cast a worried glance at Lily, and then followed James to his dorm.

"Ok Moony, what's going on with you and Lily?" James interrogated him, "Or did I just imagine you two hugging before?"

"Nothings going on, Prongs," Remus told him shakily, "It was just a friendly hug."

"Okay, then why have you two been talking so much all this week?" James was getting angry, "Getting really close with her, huh?"

Lily and Remus had formed a new bond of friendship. Lily took the advice Remus gave her on the train that he was the go-to guy for James problems. They had been evaluating the boy's behavior. To an outsider, it might seem like Lily and Remus were getting very, very close.

Suddenly, James had his wand out. Before Remus knew what had happened, he was hanging form the ceiling by his ankle.

"Are you going out with Lily?" James shouted at him.

"James, I'm not going out with Lily!" Remus felt the blood rushing to his head. "I was just –"

Suddenly Sirius came through the door and stopped when he saw what was happening. He did a double-take and walked out of the room. He re-entered to make sure what he was seeing was true.

"Prongs, what do you think you're doing?" Sirius yelled, "That's Moony you're hanging from the ceiling! Snivellus is in the Slytherin common room, if you want to hex someone _that _much."

"He's going out with Lily!" James told him angrily.

Sirius gawked at Remus, "Moony, mate, how could you do that?"

Remus was getting very annoyed, "I AM _**NOT**_GOING OUT WITH LILY!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He was getting dizzy from all the blood flow to his head. He longed for solid ground underneath his feet.

"Lily is bloody reconsidering her feelings for YOU!" Remus yelled at his highest possible volume. The floor rushed up to him and he found himself, face-down on the floor.

"What?" James asked, shocked.

"I said Lily is warming up to you! Bloody hell, James! Did you really have to do that?" Remus asked, still a bit dizzy.

"She is?" James said a half-smile on his face.

"She is?" Sirius said.

Remus looked at his friends, "Yes, remember that day on the train? I went to her compartment we got to talking about you and she ended up saying that she'll be willing to give you a chance – if you don't screw everything up…again! All week she has been talking to me about _you_, Prongs."

James smiled. _I won't screw it up this time, I swear._

"Moony," James said to his friend, helping him off of the floor, "Sorry, I overreacted. A bloke gets passionate about these things after an emotional connection for half a decade."

"It's forgotten." Remus smiled, "I even had a rather lovely chat with the ceiling."

* * *

**A/N:** _So, how's the story shaping up? Wonder what it's like to have a lovely chat with the ceiling anyway…_

_**Please review and say what you thought!!! Luv you all!!!**_

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: James is Sexy, but Lily is Sexier**

"No way," Lily laughed out, "you really did that to him?"

"I was in first year!" James protested, "And Sirius can get really annoying at times, I'm telling you!"

"Oh, I had absolutely no idea…" Lily said sarcastically.

Lily and James were patrolling the halls. It had been two weeks since the Moony incident, and James was reluctant to make a move. Remus kept telling him that Lily liked him, but James thought that Lily would say no, again.

Lily laughed, "What?" James asked.

"I was just thinking…I would give anything to see Sirius with a poodle's head." She started laughing again, James joined in with her.

"McGonagall was furious, said she never had seen a first year do that," James told her "And so began my infamous transfiguration spree," a devilish grin spread across his face.

Lily glanced at her watch, "Look, 9:00, let's go back to the Heads' dorm." She said.

They walked to their rooms, walking awfully close.

* * *

Sirius was on the couch of the Gryffindor common room, talking to Sam.

"So…Samantha, might I say you are looking extremely ravishing this evening," Sirius told her, flirting heavily.

"No, you may not, Black, buzz off." Sam said.

"Ouch, that was a little harsh, don't you think?" Sirius asked playfully.

"No that much, no," said Sam.

"Now, Sammy, we all know the golden rule; if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. And I don't believe that was a very nice thing to say." Sirius scolded her.

"And I really don't care," Sam told him.

"How about I say something nice again? Let me see…Ah! Sam, you hair flows in shining cascades down your slim figure, this is a long shot, but I say it's almost as absolutely wonderful as mine!" Sirius told her, ruffling up his hair.

"Shove off, Black!" Sam yelled at him.

"I like my ladies feisty." Sirius said.

"Too bad I'm not one of you ladies then," Sam said.

"Do you want to be?" Sirius asked her.

Lately, he had noticed how gorgeous Sam was. Her hair was always perfect, flowing down her back, or up in a ponytail or bun. Her lips looked tempting with the shiny lip gloss she applied. He hadn't had a girlfriend in a while, and Sam was more than worthy for him.

Remus and Jill walked in through the portrait hole.

It had gotten out of hand with Sam, Jill and Remus lately. Both girls had kept flirting with Remus non-stop. Of course, Jill had less experience in this matter, and often appeared shy and quiet around Remus.

"Remus!" Sam exclaimed, "How was the library?" she asked he and Jill had both gone there after lunch.

"Um…it was fine…got my homework finished for the weekend." He told her.

Sam had been acting weird around him lately, almost flirty. Remus knew better though. She was way too popular to go out with someone like him. Besides, he liked Jill. Jill was amazing to him, so smart and funny. But she seemed so shy around him; he knew she would never like him.

Sam got up and walked over to Remus, "Remus, I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime…"

Had he heard correctly? Him, Remus Lupin, asked out by the hottest girl in Hogwarts? No way, he couldn't, he liked Jill…but, then again…this would be a perfect ploy to make Jill jealous. Why not?

"Um…sure Sam, I'd love to." He said.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then," and she walked upstairs to her dorm.

"I…I…um…have to go see Lily!" Jill blurted out, and ran out of the portrait hole before Remus could say anything.

"Um…I have to go and talk to James…bye." And Sirius ran out after Jill

"What's up with them?" Remus asked no one in particular, and sat on the couch to get some reading done.

* * *

Jill ran all the way to Sir Cadogan's portrait, only to find that she had no idea what Lily and James had made the password.

"Listen! This is really important; I have to talk to Lily!" Jill shouted at Sir Cadogan.

"I cannot let you in, damsel in distress, for you do not know the phrase to open the door to my castle!" He said.

"I don't want to get into a castle; I _need_ to get into the Head's dorm!" She was getting desperate, she needed her friend.

"Jill!" Sirius was running down the hallway towards her. "You don't know the password?"

"No! And this bloody knight won't let me in!" Jill said, "Do you know the password?" she asked hopefully with a smile.

"No," He said, and her smile faded, "Let me think." His thumb rested on his chin, and his eyes rolled up in concentration…"James is sexy…but Lily…is sexier. Is that it?"

"Indeed it is, good Sir, now I open my painting to your rule." Sir Cadogan said.

"James is sexy but Lily is sexier?" Jill asked incredulously, "How in bloody hell did you know that?"

"Marauders know each other inside out." Sirius said simply.

Lily was finishing up her Charms essay at her desk when Jill and Sirius walked in. Sirius walked over to James sitting on the couch, while Jill walked over to her. They saw James and Sirius go into James' room then close the door.

"Lily…can we talk?" Jill asked.

"Of course Jill, what's up? Wait, let's go in my room." Lily said. They walked into Lily's room and Lily heard Jill stifle a soft gasp.

"It's amazing Lily." She said.

"I know, I love it," Lily told her, "But we're not here to talk about my room, what's going on?" Lily could tell Jill was sad. Her eyes were watery and her cheeks were flushed.

"Sam asked Remus out…and he said yes." Jill confided in her friend. "I don't know why he would say yes. I mean, we had just talked for over an hour in the library, we did our herbology homework together…We were having fun…but Sam is a thousand times more beautiful than me, I could never win Remus, I never even had a chance…"

Jill started softly crying, Lily was sad to see her friend so lost, "Jill, don't say that!" Lily commanded, "You and Sam are equal in every possible way. She might have more guys after her, but that only show that she can never make up her mind about anything. You have liked Remus forever, but Sam only started at the end of last year, I know Remus has feelings for you, but maybe he's just as confused as you are."

"I just…I'm not as fun to be around as Sam or you. I've always felt so…I don't know…" Jill told Lily.

"Jill, you may not seem as fun as me and Sam at first, but trust me, once people get to know you, they really see you shine." Lily said, "You just want to know you can trust people before really letting them see you."

"Thanks Lily, you're the best friend I could ever hope to have." Jill hugged Lily. "Now," Jill said, "Show me around your fabulous dorm!" They both laughed and Lily started to give her the grand tour.

* * *

"I don't even know what I'm thinking, Prongs." Sirius was talking to James in James' room. "I just can't get her out of my head, and seeing her and Remus together…It's just different to see a girl turn me down for someone else."

"Well, I expect it would be for you, you've dated every other girl in Hogwarts!" James told him.

"Not every girl!" Sirius protested, "I haven't dated a Slytherin…wait…never mind, remember fourth year? I dated Mary Bullstrode? That wasn't pleasant…"

"You know you're only proving my point here." James said.

"I know Prongs, but…I just can't see Sam and Moony really having a serious relationship." Sirius said.

"I know me either." James said. "I always saw him as Jill's type."

"Exactly," Sirius said, "And I can't see Sam and Moony together…it just doesn't seem right."

"Are you sure you aren't just falling for Sam?" James questioned his friend, smiling.

"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, "How could you accuse me of such an atrocious notion?"

"Because it's true, Padfoot," James said, still smiling, "You see this amazing girl out with another guy completely wrong for her, you can't help but have feelings, cause you saw her as your type."

"…Well…maybe you're right…" Sirius admitted, "But there's nothing I can do now, they have a date tomorrow."

"Who knows? It might be a fiasco." James told him.

"Yeah…" Sirius said absent-mindedly. "Now, James, buddy, _where_ is this infamous bathtub you have been bragging about?"

James chuckled, knowingly. Sirius was acting exactly like James acted himself in third year when he first fell for Lily. "Follow me, Padfoot, into the most beautiful lavatory, you could ever imagine…"

As soon as Sirius saw the bathroom he gasped and said, "Geese, James. You really pee in here?"

* * *

**A/N: **_I bet all of you action lovers are kind of confused, but remember this is a romance story mostly. The real intense stuff isn't coming until chapter 7 I think…_

**Don't forget to review. Please? I'll give you a cookie - a nice choccolatey one with extra luv.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Confused**

"Remus!" Sam shouted. She was waiting in the common room for them to start their date.

She hadn't seen Jill all day, _She's just jealous, _Sam thought. And not only was Jill just jealous, but she had spent all day in the library finishing homework for the rest of the month – anything that would take her mind off Remus. Jill hadn't been able to face anyone all day, she was too heartbroken. No one had even seen Sirius, or knew where he was.

"Hey Sam!" Remus said. "Did you have anything planned?"

"Yes," She said, "I though we'd just go for a walk around the halls."

"Sounds great," Remus told her, "Let's go." Sam grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the portrait hole.

* * *

"Okay, potions," Jill was talking to herself, "Come on, I must have dome potions work until Halloween!"

She was in the library pouring over books, but nothing seemed to help her forget about Remus. Suddenly, there was a loud bang in one of the isles, Jill went to investigate. She saw a student leaning down on the floor to lift an enormous book that he had dropped – hence the loud bang. Then, Jill realized who it was.

"Sirius?" Jill asked incredulously, "What are you doing in the – you _do_ know this is the library right?"

"No duh, Jill." Sirius said to her, "Could you be _any_ louder? I have a rep to maintain." He was whispering.

"Sorry," Jill whispered, "but what are you doing in the library?"

Sirius put the book back on the shelf and turned to face Jill. "I don't really know," he said, "I've never really been in here before…are there always this many books in here?"

"It's a library, Sirius." Jill told him.

They went to Jill's table and sat down across from each other.

"So, what's up? I know you didn't come in here to see the books." Jill said.

"I'm just…" Sirius started, "Ok, I was depressed about Remus and Sam." He admitted.

"You too?" Jill asked, "I didn't know you liked Sam, I'm hung up over Remus."

"I didn't know I liked Sam either, "Sirius admitted, "I don't know, she's like, the only girl who's ever turned me down."

"You asked her out?" Jill asked surprised.

"Well…sort of, but she ignored me as soon as she saw Remus." He said with a snap of dislike in his voice.

"I've liked Remus since first year," Jill admitted, "and now he goes for Sam."

"I guess we understand each other." Sirius said.

"Yeah," Jill agreed

"I guess we have that in common." Sirius said, "Both of our crushes went out with each other."

"Yeah, thanks for talking with me Sirius, I feel somewhat better now." Jill told him.

"Me too, thanks Jill." Sirius said, he was feeling spontaneous, and leaned forward to kiss Jill on the lips. He held it there for a couple of seconds and then pulled away.

Jill just looked shocked. Sirius asked her, "You feel anything?"

"Nope, you?" She said.

"No." Sirius told her, but then a bright idea dawned on him. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jill said.

"Hey, just hear me out." Sirius said, "Okay, so both of our crushes are going out with each other, right?"

"Don't remind me," Jill spoke.

"Okay and we both want our crush to go out with us, right?" Said Sirius, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah…I see where you're going…" Jill said.

"So, we _pretend_ to go out with each other, and make our crushes jealous." Sirius finished.

"Hey, that's not such a bad idea, you want to?" Jill asked.

"Well," Sirius said, "It's worth a shot."

"Okay, let's do it." Jill finalized.

"Let's go break the 'news' to everyone" Sirius proposed.

"Okay." Jill said, and he and Sirius walked rather awkwardly back to the common room, hand in hand.

* * *

Remus and Sam had just gotten back from their date, which was a success if there ever was one. They had walked through the halls talking and laughing – they had fun. They also had an awkward encounter with Peeves the Poltergeist involving ink, gum, and a very surprised Filch. It was amazing they got out of it without getting caught. They were sitting on the common room couch laughing at what had happened.

"That was fun, Sam." Remus said. He really had has fun on their date, but Sam was no Jill, and they hadn't seen Jill all day, he was afraid he was stuck with Sam and his ploy to make Jill jealous was a fiasco.

"I know, it really was," Sam told him. She had loved their date, and she was ready for the next step. She leaned in, and captured Remus' lips in her own. She held them together for a brief, shining moment, but pulled away when they were interrupted by Jill and Sirius walking through the portrait hole…holding hands?

"Err…hey guys." Sirius said awkwardly. "Sorry to, uh, interrupt,"

Sirius pulled Jill close and kissed her. They were just pretending, but why couldn't Sirius still have some fun? After about thirty seconds he pulled away and Jill gave him a "there _were _some conditions to this, you know" look.

Remus was shocked. _Okay, my ploy to make Jill jealous _was_ a disaster! _He told himself, _Stupid Moony, you should've known it wouldn't work!_

_Wow, why do I feel so bad that they're together?_ Sam thought, _I like Remus…right?_

Let's just say there were four very confused people in the common room that night.

* * *

**A/N: **_Eh. A shorter chapter, that's for sure. But I'll make it up to you :-)_

**Reviews are like gold, readers, come on. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Finally**

Lily and James were in the Heads Dorm doing homework together. Yes, it might be hard to believe, but James Potter was doing homework. Lily was proud of him for doing it before hand, usually, he would scribble it down five minutes before the lesson and get top marks for it, but now he had taken the time to fully prepare and would get even higher marks. It was kind of pointless in James' point of view, but it was an excuse to spend time with Lily. It was a little under an hour before dinner, and they would soon be going to the Great Hall.

"Finished," James said. The transfiguration essay was on animagi, and he had started working on it about fifteen minutes before.

"You cannot be serious James," Lily said, shocked. "You started that fifteen minutes ago, I'm not even halfway done yet."

"I just know about this stuff." James stated, "But I recall you finishing your Charms work in about five minutes yesterday."

"I just know about that stuff," Lily said, smiling.

Lily couldn't take it anymore; she and James had gotten to be like best friends over time. It was now a week before Halloween, and everyone was very anxious about the Hogsmeade visit that would take place.

Jill and Sam had been absorbed in their boyfriends. Sirius and Jill had taken to nuzzling their noses together and giggling whenever Remus and Sam walked by them. Remus and Sam had gotten out of hand; they would walk through the halls holding hands, with lovey-dovey looks plastered on their faces. It was like a contest to see which couple could be more like lovesick puppies.

Lily had taken refuge in James' company, Jill and Sam didn't really have time for her with Sirius and Remus now. Lily knew about Jill liking Remus, and Sam seemed oddly perfect for Sirius, so Lily figured that they were making each other jealous. Lily still felt lonely, and she was grateful for James, because he was more than willing to spend time with her. After all, Remus and Sirius had no time for him either, and Peter was off in la la land as usual

"James?" Lily said.

"Yeah Lily?" James asked

"I just wanted to say thanks," Lily told him, "Jill and Sam have been acting…well, you know, lately and I needed a friend, so, thanks for being one."

"No pr –" James started but was interrupted by Lily pressing her lips against his.

It was like a sudden jolt was sent through both their bodies. They instantly felt the connection between them. The kiss deepened and it soon turned into a full-out snog session. James ran his fingers through Lily's soft, silky hair and Lily responded with running her hands up and down his back. Their mouths were open for each others explorations and they were both willing to explore. Lily's hands were soon running through James' messy mop of hair and James' hands were around Lily's waist, pulling her closer.

Suddenly, Lily realized what she was doing. She pulled away and ran out the portrait hole before James even had time to open his eyes.

James stood there alone and at a loss for words. That was the most amazing he had ever had in his life, and he'd had some kisses before. He stared at their forgotten homework. He wouldn't get the chance to continue it tonight.

* * *

_Oh my god, _Lily thought. She was in the library, not doing anything, but staring out of the window. She couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. Why had she done it? It was after dinner and she hadn't bothered eating at all, she just spent the dining hour in the library, doing nothing.

Lily had avoided talking to anyone. She didn't think she could face James yet. But that kiss…She had felt their connection, there was no denying it. She had never felt so confused in her life…_Oh my god! I kissed James Potter…I kissed James Potter…_

_**And it was a fantastic kiss. Admit it, you had never felt anything so right in you life. You felt wonderful and you're glad you did it.**_

_I am not glad I did it!_

_**Are too!**_

_Are not!_

_**You like him,**_

_I know that but I was rushing things…_

_**And you're glad you rushed them…**_

_God, what am I going to do?_

_**Talk to him, you patrol tonight, right? Tell him how you feel and show him how much you feel it. You'll feel so much better then…**_

Lily couldn't argue with herself.

They had met outside of Sir Cadogan's portrait. There was a brief moment of silence, and then Lily started walking at a brisk pace. James ran to catch up with her. He had felt something too last night and he was overcome with hormones and a deep burning desire to be with Lily.

He grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the wall. Their eyes met. Deep hazel with emerald green, they both had a looks on that were dripping with passion.

James didn't pause a moment longer, he leaned forward and captured her lips in his. It was soft and gentle at first, but when she didn't pull away, the kiss got more deep and passionate. Lily's hands came around James' neck and started playing with his hair there. James had his arms on Lily's back, and the space between them was soon filled. Lily's tongue was on James' lip, beckoning him to get deeper. He obliged and soon their mouths were open to each others pleasure.

James ran his fingers through her silky red hair and Lily's hand were caressing his spine. They had never felt so pure and so right before. They knew that they belonged in each others arms.

Reluctantly, they pulled apart, and gazed into the others eyes.

"Lily," James said, "I love you."

Of course Lily knew this already, but to hear the word come out of his mouth made her happier than she had felt in a long time.

"Oh James…I love you too." The words felt awkward coming out of her mouth, They felt strange and new, but proper, and she wasn't entirely sure she meant them. Still, she felt better than she felt in a long time.

James entwined his hands in hers and rested his head against hers.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked rather stupidly. A simple question like that didn't compare to "I love you" but he had to ask her.

"Nothing would make me happier." Lily replied. They then walked to their Dorm hand in hand.

They gave their silly password to Sir Cadogan and stepped through the portrait into complete chaos.

"HAPPY MAUAUDER'S DAY JAMES!!!" everyone yelled. Sirius, Jill, Peter, Sam, and Remus were there waiting for them. Marauder's Day was the anniversary of the day that James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter became the Marauders.

"Took you long enough to get back, I was about to die of boredom." Sirius said dramatically.

"Heaven forbid it," Jill muttered, but Sirius heard.

"Oh, come on baby, you know you love me," Sirius said, smiling.

Unsure of how to reply, Jill just remained silent. Lily slapped James on the arm, hard.

"_WHY_, didn't you tell me it was Marauder's Day?" Lily yelled at him.

"Because, we were too busy with this," James engulfed Lily in another kiss, which he pulled away from quickly; they both thought was too short.

Everyone stopped to stare. All eyes were on Lily and James.

"FINALLY!" Remus broke the silence. Everyone agreed with him

Then everyone cheered and Lily and James beamed at everyone, they were both too happy for words. Then the party _really_ got started.

Sirius had brought ten cases of firewhiskey and had popped the cork off of one immediately. No one had bothered to ask where exactly he had gotten them.

After an hour Sirius was dead drunk. He had started dancing on the coffee table singing some song about how sexy he was and then collapsed without a word and broke off into very loud snores.

James had lasted a little longer. He had two bottles of the firewhiskey and had gotten to the point where he was standing on the couch screaming "Kowabunga! Surf's up dudes!" before his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell on top of Sirius.

Jill and Sam had both shared a bottle, but they had both consumed enough to dance around in circles and get so dizzy that they fell on the floor unconscious. Peter however had crawled next to a bookcase and started muttering things no one could hear before he slipped into blackness.

Lily and Remus didn't drink at all, but were set with the task of cleaning up everyone else. Lily had levitated James to his room and had set him on his bed where he could sleep in comfort. They managed to lift Sirius onto the couch with great difficulty, and set Jill and Sam on the two recliners. With Peter, they knew there was no way getting him on a couch, so they managed to get him in a more comfortable position and conjured a blanket which they set over him.

Remus left for the comfort of his dorm and bid Lily farewell. Lily retired to her room, exhausted and slept dreamlessly.

* * *

**A/N: **_//Screams\\ James and Lily are together! Yay! Just so you all know, not good with writing kissing scenes. If you can't tell how awkward it was then **review** and say how much you loved or even hated it!!!_

**Like I said. Review!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Matches With Werewolves**

James woke up aware of the constant throbbing in his temples. He didn't open his eyes, just lay there, awake. Where was he? He didn't remember anything past lunch yesterday. He remembered Lily, and doing their homework together, then…nothing. He really did homework?

Slowly, he opened his eyes to find himself, still clothed, in his bed. His door slowly opened to reveal flashing green eyes and bright red hair. Lily slowly walked toward him.

"Good morning, sleepy head." She greeted him. Then, to James's utter shock, she kissed him. He didn't dare pull away, for fear that he was dreaming. Then, Lily slowly backed away.

"What was that for?" James asked, still shocked.

"Huh?" Lily questioned, "A girl can't kiss her boyfriend good morning?"

Boyfriend? _What_ exactly had he done yesterday?

"Did you just say I was your boyfriend?" James asked.

"Yeah…" Lily said, "James, are you okay?"

"Lily, I don't remember anything past starting our homework yesterday." James admitted.

"Well, perhaps this will refresh you memory." Lily told him

She then gave him the best kiss he had ever experienced in his life. It was so full of life and love. Everything that had happened yesterday came flooding back to him.

_James stood there alone and at a loss for words. That was the most amazing he had ever had in his life, and he'd had some kisses before. He stared at their forgotten homework. He wouldn't get the chance to continue it tonight._

_He grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the wall. Their eyes met. Deep hazel with emerald green, they both had a looks on that were dripping with passion._

_James ran his fingers through her silky red hair and Lily's hand were caressing his spine. They had never felt so pure and so right before. They knew that they belonged in each others arms._

_Reluctantly, they pulled apart, and gazed into the others eyes. _

"_Lily," James said, "I love you." _

"_Oh James…I love you too." The words felt so right coming out of her mouth, even if she wasn't entirely sure she meant them._

_James entwined his hands in hers and rested his head against hers._

"_Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked rather stupidly. A simple question like that didn't compare to "I love you" but he had to ask her._

"_Nothing would make me happier." Lily replied. They then walked to their Dorm hand in hand._

"Yeah," James said, "I think I remember now…" He kissed her again.

"I guess I'd better take a shower and get dressed, care to join me?" He asked with a devilish grin

"Don't push it James." Lily glared at him.

"Just a suggestion," James laughed.

Remus was finishing up his Transfiguration essay in the common room, while Sam was sitting across from him at the table. He couldn't be with Sam anymore; it just didn't feel right. He tried his best to make Jill jealous, but it had all backfired and she had started going out with Sirius.

"Remus," Sam said, "is something wrong?"

"Yes, actually," Remus said. "Sam, you're amazing, and I could name a thousand guys who would want to be me right now, but I just can't be with you anymore." This was getting hard to explain, "It's hard to say this…I only went out with you to make Jill jealous, but it all ended up shoved back in my face. I hope you'll forgive me, but I just can't lie to you anymore."

"I'm glad you feel the same way." Sam told him. Remus was shocked, "I originally liked you and asked you out because I wanted to, but after our first date and seeing Sirius with Jill, I guess than I only went out with you to irk Sirius and that is in no way fair to you, I'm sorry."

"So you understand?" Remus asked.

"Perfectly," Sam stated, "Now what are you waiting for? Go and tell Jill how you feel."

"Are you crazy?" Remus said, "I can't just waltz up to her and tell her I love her! She's going out with Sirius…I just can't"

"What could it hurt?" Sam asked.

"Oh, Sirius could hurt me." Remus said.

"How about _I_ hurt you if you don't go and tell her how you feel right now!" Sam said, "You just told me than you loved her."

Sam was right. At that moment, a surge of realization rushed over Remus. _I love her. _He told himself.

He jumped up from his seat and rushed towards the portrait hole, colliding with Jill who had just entered the common room. Sirius, who was holding hands with Jill, was caught up with their collision and all three of them fell to the floor in a heap. Sam then rushed over to help them off of the floor, but tripped and ended up falling on top of them.

"Ouch!"

"Stop pulling my hair!"

"Get your foot out of my face!"

"Whose arse am I staring at?"

"I think I pulled a muscle!"

"This is a very uncomfortable position…"

"My hair is ruined!"

"I'm sexy!"

That last phrase was Sirius, and that got everyone to shut up and get untangled. At this point, Lily and James walked into the common room to look at four very messy people stare at one another.

"Why did you crash into me Remus?" Jill asked him.

"I was just going to find you…" Remus said sheepishly.

"What for?" Jill said.

"To do this," Remus told her, then engulfed her in a kiss.

Everyone just stared at them kissing…Then Sam broke the silence, telling Sirius, "You know Remus is kissing your girlfriend, right?" Remus and Jill still hadn't broken apart.

"I really don't care." Sirius turned to face Sam, "And you want to know why?"

"Why?" Sam asked him.

"This is why." Sirius said, and he started snogging Sam furiously.

Lily and James were speechless. What had just happened in here? They looked at the two snogging couples, confused.

"Well," James said, "I'm feeling left out, how about you?" He grinned at Lily.

Lily grinned back, "I hate feeling left out,"

James started kissing her too. For the next couple of minutes, those six teenagers knew something; they were all correctly matched.

* * *

"They have a right to know, Prongs." Remus was talking to James in front of the Gryffindor fire merely two day after the "miracle" as they had come to call it. 

"Moony, are you sure?" James asked his friend.

"James," Remus looked at him squarely in the eye. "Being a werewolf, I don't trust very easily. You never know who you can really trust, having my problem. But I have never come into contact with such a group of people that I would trust my life with."

"I guess you're sure then," James smiled.

"I'm just afraid that Jill, she won't..." Remus sighed.

"If Jill is still the wonderful person that you fell in love with than this furry little problem won't change her feelings." James told him.

"Well then, I guess we'll find out... Hey guys!" Remus shouted at the group.

Lily was helping Sam, Jill, Sirius, and Peter in turn with a nasty potions essay that Slughorn had assigned. Lily was sitting down in a wooden chair while the other four people formed a line with pieces of parchment in hand. Jill and Sirius were fighting about who got to go next after Sam.

"What?" Sirius yelled back.

"All of you come here, I have to tell you all something." The group all took seats by the fire.

Remus stood facing the six people.

"Sirius, Peter, and James, you all know this already." Remus started, "But you girls deserve to know too. You know how once a month a go to visit 'my fatally ill aunt in London'?"

The three females nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't have a fatally ill aunt in London." Remus said. "The truth is–"

"–You're a werewolf." Lily finished for him. Seeing the shocked look on all of the boys' faces, she continued, "In fifth year, the day of that incident by the lake I got so angry that I followed James one night to tell him off. I ended up following him to the Whomping Willow and saw you three transform. I kind of figured what Remus was. I told Sam and Jill, too, they know."

The two other girls nodded in agreement. "And no, Remus, it does not change the way I feel about you." Jill told him with a smile.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Remus asked, shocked.

"We were waiting for you to reveal it yourself. It was you secret, not ours." Sam answered.

"Merlin." Sirius said.

"What?" All three girls questioned.

"Never knew you dumb girls could be so smart." He had to duck to dodge the three pillows thrown at his face.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Yay! every couple is correctly matched again! Who's happy? I am, that's for sure._

**Roses are red, Violets are blue. This FanFiction is awesome, so review, review, review!!! (oh, and say what you thought of my poem) :-)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The First Time**

Hogsmeade was bustling as three couples made their way down its busy streets. The town was decorated for All Hallows Eve; everywhere you looked you could see jack-o-lanterns and cobwebs.

"Hey guys," Remus started, "Why don't we meet at the Three Broomsticks at 1:00?" He was hand-in-hand with Jill. It was the Halloween Hogsmeade visit and every student allowed to go was anxious about leaving the school grounds.

"Sounds good," Sirius said, he had his arms around Sam's waist.

"See you guys later." Lily told them all. She grabbed James's arm and started dragging him down the road.

Remus and Jill started walking in the opposite direction, still holding hands and smiling at each other. Sam saw them take a left turn down a street, and then turned to look at Sirius. He was sniffing the air. Like a dog he followed his nose straight into Honeyduke's. Sam rolled her eyes and followed her boyfriend into the candy store.

* * *

Remus and Jill were strolling along a road. They didn't know where they were going or why. They just loved being with each other. They stopped at a tea shop they had never seen before. The sign outside of the shop read Madame Puddifoot's. Intrigued, they entered the shop.

"I'm not so sure about this…" Remus concerned as he looked at his surroundings.

Everywhere there was pink. Pink. Pink tablecloths, pink floors, pink walls, there was no escape from the pink. Pink jack-o-lanterns, pink cobwebs, since when was pink the official color of Halloween? This was definitely a couples place, but Remus didn't think it was right for Jill and him.

"The pink…there is no escape." Jill was staring wide-eyed at the shop.

"Jill…let's, uh, go." Remus said to her.

"Please, take me out of here." Jill pleaded with him.

They stumbled out of the shop, a little nerved, but alright. They started down the street until they reached an odds and ends store. The sings outside this store read _Odd's End_. The stuff on display through the window looked very interesting. Old jewelry and cool gadgets galore, this shop called to Remus and Jill. They timidly walked in through the entrance.

"This is cool." Remus said to Jill, "Come on, let's look around."

It was obvious no one came in here regularly. The products were dusty and old, but there was some sort of charm to the whole place.

"Wow." Jill whispered, "Look at this…" She lifted a simple necklace out of a pile of metal products. It was a silver chain with a small golden star.

"You like it?" Remus asked.

"Yes." Jill said. "It's beautiful."

"You got it." Remus told her.

He took the necklace and walked up to the counter where a small, old man was drooling in his sleep. Remus rang the bell on top of the desk and the old man jerked awake suddenly.

"Whatduyawanwithme?" He yelled, looking all around the shop. His eyes came to rest upon Remus who was staring at him curiously.

"I…uh, well…wanted to, um, buy this?" Remus asked, showing him the necklace.

"7 sickles and 3 knuts," The old man said. Remus counted out and gave him the money. After receiving his earnings, the old man fell asleep as fast as he had woken up, and erupted in to loud, obtrusive snores.

Remus and Jill left the shop; Jill had the necklace around her neck.

"Remus, thank you so much," Jill turned to face him and started to kiss him. After a brief, shining moment, they broke apart.

"You're welcome, Jill." Remus said and hugged her.

* * *

Sirius walked out of Honeyduke's, his arms laden with every possible type of candy ever. Sam walked out behind him with a simple Acid Pop in her mouth. Sirius walked to the picnic area and sat under a tree. He laid them all on the ground in front of him, and started tearing the wrapper off of a Chocolate Frog. Sam plopped herself next to him and finished her Acid Pop.

"You know, people aren't going to like you if you keep eating like that." Sam told Sirius as he stuffed an entire licorice wand in his mouth at once.

Still chewing he said, "Come on babe, you still love me,"

"Yes, but everyone isn't your girlfriend," Sam stated.

Then Sirius started to tickle her mercilessly. He wouldn't stop and Sam was dying from laughter. "Stop it – please – Sirius!" she said through her laughter.

"Make me!" He challenged, and continued to tickle her until she jumped up to kiss him on the lips for a brief second. He was caught off guard and she took the chance to jump up and run to hide behind the nearest tree.

Sirius ran after her and he was chasing her in circles around the same tree. Sam ran to the next tree into the forest – but it hadn't been a tree. She bumped into a tall, lanky man. Sam looked up into red, bloodshot eyes with black pupils and white skin.

"Oh my – Sirius! Run!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs. She was staring into the eyes of Lord Voldemort.

"Sam what is –" Sirius started, but stopped immediately as he saw who she was with. He whipped out his wand and started to mutter a curse when his wand flew out f his hand and into Voldemort's.

"Ahh," He said, "Young love," he sighed as Sam's wand flew into his hand as well, "What a pity…"

Voldemort suddenly sent jolts of scarlet light at Sirius and Sam, and they knew no more.

* * *

James and Lily were standing in sight of the shrieking shack, holding hands and staring into each others eyes. Lily looked away from him and at the Shack.

"That place has always scared me," Lily told James, "I've never known why, it's just…kind of creepy I guess…"

James kissed the top of her head and out his arm around her, "Don't worry," he said, "There's nothing to be afraid of." He still hadn't told Lily about _where_ Remus and all of the Marauders disappeared at a full moon.

"That doesn't make the screams go away…" Lily stared into the distant windows of the shack.

"The screams are only there at full moon, Lily. There's a passageway under the Whomping Willow that leads to the Shack. Remus goes there to transform."

"Oh. I didn't know," Lily said, "Poor Remus, he makes those screams?"

At that moment a loud scream that sounded like a young girl erupted from the shack making Lily jump. James squinted at the shack, and then his facial expression changed into one of worry.

"James, I thought you said that Remus made those screams!"

"He does!" James knew someone was inside the Shack, screaming by the sound of it. "Let's get the others."

They ran through the dense cluster of trees until they found the main road and the Three Broomsticks. Remus and Jill were sitting on a bench outside of the pub.

"Remus!" James yelled and ran up to the couple, Lily close behind him. "Remus, there were screams coming out of the Shrieking Shack, a girl's."

Now it was Remus' turn to look concerned, "Full moon's not for another week…" He made eye contact with James.

"Well, it is the Shrieking Shack, you know." Jill said. She was confused.

" The Shrieking Shack is where we all go at a full moon. The screams are the sounds of Remus transforming. Since Remus is here and not there, someone is screaming for some other sort of reason in there – we _have_ to go!" James grabbed Lily's arm and started to run.

Remus leaped up, taking Jill with him. The four ran and ran until they were right outside if the shack. James was the first to enter. Wand out, he slowly opened the creaking door as another scream came from inside, the same voice as before.

"James," Lily said, "I'm not so sure about this…"

"Trust me Lily," and he gazed into her emerald green eyes for a brief moment, then briskly walked into the shack.

Lily and Jill walked in after him, clutching each others arms with one of their hands, and holding their wands shakily in the other. Remus slowly walked in after them, it was bad enough to come here once a month, and now someone else was in there, screaming…He took one last look out the door, and then made his way up the dusty stairs after James and the girls.

At the top of the stairs, James was shushing everyone quiet; he was listening to voices inside the room on the second floor.

"Had enough, little girl?" Voldemort sneered at Sam as she lay on the floor, desperately hurt after going through an hour of torture at the hands of the evilest man in the wizarding world.

"Stop it you evil son of a hippogriff!" Sirius yelled. He was tied tightly to the bedpost, wand-less, without a way of escaping or helping Sam. He was going mad after watching her endure that.

"You watch your tongue, boy!" Voldemort snapped at Sirius, "Have you had fun watching your precious little girlfriend in pain? I know I have." He smiled evilly at him.

"Shut up!" Sirius screamed, desperately trying to loosen the grip on the ropes binding him there, but every time he tried, they seemed to only get tighter.

"You'll pay for that one, you blood traitor!" Voldemort said, "_Crucio!_" He aimed his wand at Sam and she started screaming in pain once again. Her face was bloodstained, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"That evil –" Jill started as she rushed into the room, she couldn't take it anymore, listening and not doing anything. Remus mad a desperate grasp to stop her, but merely brushed her sleeve.

"Damn!" Remus cursed under his breath.

Inside the room Jill was sending stunning spells in Voldemort's direction. One spell grazed his arm, but didn't stun him. Voldemort got very angry and used some magical force to hold her against the wall. She was held there, gasping.

"You'll regret coming here, foolish girl!" Voldemort spat at Jill, detest in every syllable of his words.

James had to do something – anything – anything that could stop this. He had an ides, he turned to face Lily, "Lily," he said, "I love you."

Then, James transformed, he was now Prongs, the great stag, he galloped into the room just as Voldemort was sending a spell at Jill.

"_Obliviate!_" he yelled, the spell was making its way toward the wide-eyed and frightened Jill. But James was headed in the wrong direction, he tackled Voldemort, but the spell had already hit its target.

Then there was an enormous explosion as Jill was hit with an almighty force of light. She was sent through the wall, which collapsed on top of her. Remus and Lily were on the other side of that wall, and they desperately rummaged through the debris to find her.

Meanwhile, James transformed back into human form and was pointing his wand at Voldemort's throat.

"Your friends, James?" Voldemort sneered. Then he sent a huge spell that made black smoke appear everywhere. No one could see him escape through the door.

Remus was now sobbing over Jill's body. Lily was running toward James, and jumped in his arms. Sirius, whose ropes were cut by one of Jill's stunning spells, had just realized he was free. He was holding Sam's unconscious head in his lap.

They all had escaped Voldemort for the first time.

* * *

**A/N:**_ How's that for action? All of you Jill lovers, don't hate me!_

**I don't know if any of you know this, but it's author appreciation time! Show your love by reviewing!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Operation Lily/James is a Go!**

"I need you all to tell me exactly what happened." Dumbledore spoke to three much shaken teenagers.

After Voldemort escaped from the Shrieking Shack, James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius managed to lift the rubble off of Jill's body. They didn't know if she was alive or dead. Sirius lifted Sam's unconscious form off of the dusty floor and carried her back to the castle through the secret passageway with James and Remus carrying Jill behind him. Lily walked a little ahead of them, as a lookout. Remus went to touch the knot on the Whomping Willow and everyone else crawled out of the hole. They saw Hogsmeade smoking, and a Dark Mark was placed in the sky above it.

Upon reaching the stairs to the entrance, Sirius promptly collapsed and he and Sam fell to the ground. Lily ran inside to fetch Professor McGonagall, who came with Madame Pomfrey to levitate Sam and Sirius and Jill to the Hospital Wing. She told Remus, Lily, and James to head up to the Headmaster's office with the password "Lemon Drop."

They entered Dumbledore's office very timidly and muttered a few hellos to him. Lily and James had sat on a couch before a desk and clasped their hands together while Remus sat on an armchair next to the couch, and developed a sudden interest with the carpet.

"It's a long story, Professor." James said.

"We have time James," Dumbledore said.

So they told him everything, everything from Lily and James standing by the shack and hearing Sam's voice, to James holding his wand to Voldemort's throat. They told him about Jill being sent through the wall, to listening to Sam being tortured. James refrained from telling Dumbledore that he had transformed into a stag before entering the room, and why they had the idea that someone was being tortured in the first place. He would not betray Remus' trust. Remus hardly said a word during the whole story.

"I see," Dumbledore told them. "While you were rescuing Mr. Black and Miss Brown, about thirteen Death Eaters were attacking Hogsmeade village. They managed to completely destroy a small store called _Odd's End_ and…they injured ten students in the process."

"Jill and I went to that store…" Remus spoke, "I bought her a necklace…"

"I see," Dumbledore said again. At that moment a tawny owl flew through the open window. The owl dropped a piece of parchment on Dumbledore's desk then flew back out the window.

Dumbledore read the parchment then took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily. "It says," He told them, "That our Miss Jones is alive, but has lost her memory. She has been taken to the long-term care ward at St. Mungo's…"

At these words Remus jumped up and ran out of the room. Lily started to go after him, but James stopped her, "He just needs some time, love."

"I believe that you two are very tired. I can give you the choice of attending the Halloween feast and then spending the night in the Hospital Wing, or going straight up to the Hospital Wing." Dumbledore told them.

"I believe we will attend the feast first, Professor." James said. Either choice didn't appeal to him, but he might as well get food out of it.

"After the feast, I will trust you to go and fetch Mr. Lupin and bring him up to Madame Pomfrey with you. I believe a potion for dreamless sleep is in order here."

"Yes sir." Lily said quietly, and they left the room for the feast.

* * *

They found Remus by the lake, staring into its depths. He was thinking deeply about something, most likely Jill.

"Moony," James said, "Come on, buddy, Dumbledore says we have to spend the night in the Hospital Wing."

Remus didn't speak just made eye contact with James, and then Lily and nodded. They walked back up to the castle silently. They just might take Dumbledore up on that potion, but not for dreams, for nightmares.

* * *

"Oh no," Sirius spoke and Lily and James told him about Jill. It was the next day at around noon. Lily and James had been discharged early that morning, Remus had left without a word and no one had seen him all day.

Sirius and Sam occupied the last two beds on the left side of the Hospital Wing by the door. James sat in a chair by the exit and Lily sat in a chair between Sirius and Sam's beds. Sam hadn't woken up yet.

"Moony is in a right state. Won't talk to anyone. It's because of Jill, I know it." James said.

"I would expect so," Sirius said, "I don't what I'm going to do if – if she doesn't wake up." He looked at Sam's sleeping form. Madame Pomfrey had said she was going to be okay, but Sirius wasn't too sure.

"She'll be okay Sirius," Lily reassured him, "She just needs rest after…what happened." It was a touchy subject between them; Sirius blamed himself for what happened to her. But he forgot that he himself was tortured by Voldemort too, and Sam had to watch.

"I just hope Remus is okay," Sirius looked away from Sam and spoke to his friends.

"Yeah," Lily and James spoke in unison.

"McGonagall asked me to tutor this 5th year Ravenclaw girl in Transfiguration…" James told them, longing for a change in subject.

"You should do it," Lily said, "To take your mind off of things…" James had blamed himself for not being quick enough to save Jill.

"Sure…I guess…it's in two days…I'll think about it…" James said, gazing absent-mindedly out the window.

"Out, out, out! No more visitors! Mr. Black needs his rest!" Madame Pomfrey came walking briskly toward them.

Lily and James left Sirius there looking very alone and very sad.

* * *

James entered the warm and inviting library searching for the 5th year Ravenclaw student he was supposed to be tutoring. The past two days passed in a blur. Sam woke up and was tired and sore, and her voice was very hoarse from screaming so much. But she pretended she was absolutely fine so that she could get out of the Hospital Wing. She was discharged that morning and she and Lily had locked themselves in Lily's room all day, probably girl talk or something; they had both lost their best friend.

"James!" Someone had called him from a table to the right. It was a girl; she had wispy light brown hair, blue eyes and a great smile. James slowly made his way over to her.

"Are you the girl I'm tutoring?" James asked her.

"Jamie, Jamie Harrington." She said.

"Hi Jamie, I'm James Po–"

"I know who you are…" Jamie told James

"Okay then…what did you need help with?" James questioned.

"Oh – tutoring, right…well…I was having trouble with switching spells." Jamie admitted.

So James went over everything with her. He started with basic first year switching and slowly progressed to OWL switching spells. By the end of the hour she had gotten the hang of it.

"Oh my – look! I did it!" Jamie exclaimed as she successfully transfigured her chair to a dog and back. Madame Pince looked at them, scandalized.

"Great job!" James told her, "And look, our hour's up, I'll meet you here next Tuesday, okay?"

"Okay James," Jamie started. Then, she leaned in and kissed him.

Unfortunately, at that very moment when their lips met, Lily had walked in to the library.

"JAMES! What – what are you doing?" Lily looked angry, hurt, confused, and sad all at the same time.

James immediately pulled away from Jamie, as if she was a poisonous monster. "Lily! Lily – it's not what it looks like!" He was trying to find an explanation for whatever had just happened.

"Really? What _does_ it look like then, _Potter_?" Lily shouted at him. She ran out of the Library, hot tears running down her cheeks.

"WHY IN BLOODY HELL DID YOU JUST DO THAT!?" James yelled at Jamie, who was looking rather pleased with herself.

"She doesn't deserve you James." Jamie said is a deathly tone. "I have devoted my entire life to you – but no! Lily this, and Lily that – she has rejected you your whole life, but you just have to keep pursuing her!"

"Your entire life to me, huh? Well, what exactly did you do then?" James asked, panicking as he realized that he and Lily were over for good. "Did you create a – what, James Potter Fan Club or whatever insane girls do?"

"The JPFC is thriving." Jamie told him in that same deathly tone.

"You – you're sick! Take my advice and get – some – help!" James was shouting again. "Stay away from me and Lily, or else." He added in a monotone, looking her straight in the eye.

James stomped out of the library, very angry and confused.

* * *

Lily walked into the Gryffindor common room, flushed and crying. Remus was sitting in a chair by the window, staring onto the grounds with hurt eyes. When Lily came in, he looked at her, his eyes now filled with concern.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked her, but it only made her cry harder.

"James…James – he – he was – kissing a Ravenclaw in the library – I – I saw him." And then she ran up to the 7th year girl's dorm, probably to tell Sam about what happened.

Just as Remus heard the soft click of a door close up the stairs, James ran into the common room.

"Prongs!" Remus called him, "What did you just do to her? How – how could you?" He was getting sort of ticked at his best friend. "I thought you loved Lily! And now you kiss another girl? James, I know this has all been tough on us, but I would like to take the credit for being the most hurt here! The love of my life has just gone insane! You had Lily, she was devoted to you, and you betray her?"

"Moony! I didn't betray her!" James was pacing around the room, running his hand frantically through his hair. "It was that girl – _that girl_ – Jamie! She – she just kissed me! I didn't do anything! Lily just walked in at the worst possible moment!"

"What?" Remus asked.

"Remember I was supposed to tutor this girl today?" James said, Remus nodded, "Well after we were finished she kissed me, just leaned right in and – plop, she snogged me. Then Lily walked in! Then this insane girl – the JPFC – Lily _does _deserve me – I don't deserve _her_! God, Moony! What am I going to do?"

"Honestly James, I don't know." Remus told him.

"Come on Moony! Today of _all_ days you decide _not_ to be all wise and…and deep?" James said.

"No Prongs," Remus said quietly, and looked back out the window, "We just have to let nature take its course."

* * *

"My friends, we are here not for anything small and insignificant, but for something bigger than all of us! We are here for Lily and James." Sirius was pacing to and fro.

He had called a special "meeting" in the Room on Requirement between him, Sam, and Remus. Both Sam and Remus had absolutely no clue why they were there.

"Sirius…" Sam said, "We're, like, the only ones here."

"Don't interrupt!" Sirius snapped.

After hearing about Lily and James, Sirius was distraught. He _had_ to do something. But what, exactly he had no idea.

"Well, if, you're going to get all snippy about it…" Sam muttered.

"As you all know, Lily Evans and James Potter have broken-up. We are all shocked and devastated at the news of this event, and we have come here to fix it!" Sirius punched the air. Then he started pacing again and made long, sweeping motions with his hands as he went into this whole long lecture that Remus and Sam paid no attention to.

"I think he's off his rocker." Remus muttered to Sam.

"Hold on, he may be on to something…" Sam muttered back, thinking.

"So, my friends welcome to _Team Lily/James_!" Sirius finished with a triumphant smile on his face.

"What? We have a _name_ now?" Remus asked, incredulously.

"All good teams have names, Moony!" Sirius told him.

"I think I have an idea, I just have to make sure…" Sam said curiously and walked out of the door.

There was an awkward silence between Remus and Sirius, so Remus followed Sam out the door. Sirius looked around the room – he was all alone.

"Okay…I guess _Operation Lily/James_ is a go!"

* * *

**A/N:**_ //cries\\ Jill! Why??? I'm just as sad as all of you guys right now. Killed me to do that to Jill //sniff\\ Oh, and I love the idea of_ Team Lily/James_, don't you?_

**Review and tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Failed Attempts**

James Potter was now in a daze. He mulled through his days with only the required amount of energy needed. He spent most of his time in his now empty common room only leaving for classes, food, and Quidditch practice. Lily had been sleeping in the 7th year girl's dorm with Sam.

Sirius had tried his best to pull James from his couch potato state, but was so far unsuccessful in his attempts. For the only time in their lives, Sirius could not cheer up his best friend. Of course no one could imagine what exactly James was feeling. He was dismally betrayed by a 5th year he had known for an hour. Not exactly an encouraging thought in the long-run.

Lily, meanwhile, had become more of a bookworm than humanly possible. In fact, Sam didn't think it was entirely healthy for one to spend so much time lying on a bed, reading; although, her marks in class had – if possible – improved. Remus was watching her do some Charms work one night, and noticed that it was not due until March.

As December was steadily approaching, so was the first Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff – the stakes were high, the Hufflepuff team had a new captain, 7th year Amos Diggory, who even rivaled the Gryffindor seeker Jennifer Callaway. James and Sirius (Chaser and beater respectively) had been working the team to the bone. James, most likely, had been glad for the distraction from reality.

Sam had started acting a bit more cheerful as the match was approaching. Every time she met both Remus and Sirius' eyes, she would break out into this devilish smirk that got the boys thinking what she was up to. The answer soon came as Sam sent a note to them during potions one particularly windy November day.

_**TLJ meeting. Tonight, 7:00.**_

_**Be there.**_

_**- Sam**_

They hadn't asked questions for at that moment, Professor Slughorn had been eyeing them curiously for a while now. They just smiled back at him and worked on their potion, the Draught of Living Death.

At 7:00 they made their way to the Room of Requirement for the mysterious meeting that Sam had called and entered to see her there waiting for them. She had a disapproving look on her face as she saw them enter and sit down on the couch in front of her.

"It's 7:01; don't you guys know how to be punctual?" She scowled at them.

"Very funny Sam, absolutely hilarious, now will you please tell us why exactly you have called us here? I'm hungry, and dinner just started." Sirius was rubbing his belly, "That's right, you want food, don't you? Don't worry we'll get out of here and feast upon the food so lavishly laid upon the Gryffindor table."

"Okay, just this once, I _don't_ want to know what he's doing." Remus said, looking at his friend.

"Okay, after our last meeting, a plan formulated in my oh-so-brilliant head of mine. It will be tricky, but if we do it right, and Belly Boy here keeps his mouth shut to James, it just might work." Sam told them in a very annoyed voice as she talked about Sirius.

"Hey, why wouldn't I keep my mouth shut?" Sirius protested.

"Because, Sirius, I knew – one way or another – that you would somehow let this slip to James." Sam said, "You tell the bloke bloody everything and this has to work if you ever want to see James and Lily together again."

Sirius didn't protest anymore, he just crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his girlfriend.

"So what's the plan then?" Remus asked Sam.

"Okay, the reason I put this off for a while, was so that Sirius wouldn't slip." Sirius sent her a very evil glare, "It will take place at the Quidditch match tomorrow –"

"Hold on just a second!" Sirius yelled, jumping up from his seat. "I refuse to take part in this if interferes with James' Quidditch ability. If we don't beat Hufflepuff tomorrow, we haven't got a chance at the cup!"

"Relax, belly boy." Sam said calmly. "Let me finish, and then you can eat. Sirius looked at her, then his belly, and then sat back down next to Remus.

"Okay," Sam continued, "As I said, the plan will unfold at the match tomorrow. It will only happen _after_ – you hear Sirius – after the snitch is caught and Gryffindor wins, as you know it will. The Hufflepuff defense is weak, even if Diggory catches the snitch, you will probably have scored enough points to win."

"Since when are _you_ an expert on that stuff?" Sirius asked as his eyebrows cocked at her.

"I just am," Sam replied, "McGonagall even asked me to do the commentary for the match, and I said yes, to keep an eye on things."

"So what's the plan?" Remus said.

"Okay, the plan is, to put the image in Lily's mind, of James being desperately wounded. I spent some time in the library," (Sirius shuddered) "and I found a lucky little charm that just might help. You see, this charm makes hard ground very soft, one could fall from 100 feet in the air, but if they land on this charmed ground, they would feel as if they were just falling back onto their beds. Fun, no?"

"Somehow, I don't think I'm going to like my part in this…" Sirius concerned.

"You, love, after the match is over and everyone is celebrating, will aim a bludger ever-so-carefully and knock James off of his broom." Sam told him, smiling.

"No way!" Sirius jumped up again.

"Relax, will you?" Sam said, rolling her eyes. "You're a fantastic beater and you know James' style. Just hit a bludger that will make him stumble and fall. Make it look like an accident, mind. Then, that's where our Remus comes in." She smiled at the remaining boy on the couch who suddenly looked very nervous.

"I'm not going to like this either…am I?" Remus asked her.

"You, my friend, will steal James' invisibility cloak tonight, and hide it where you can grab it before the match tomorrow." She was still smiling.

"I knew I wasn't going to like it." Remus said and slowly stood up.

"You will take said invisibility cloak and sport it fashionably as you walk on the pitch and perform the charm under James' broom where he will fall. As soon as he hits the ground, you will stun him, so that it will look like he is unconscious."

"If Prongs finds out about this than he's going to bloody murder me." Sirius said, worried.

"You said yourself that this was about something bigger than us," Sam said walking up to him and looking him straight in the eye, "This is about James and Lily's relationship!"

"Alright, alright!" Sirius calmed her, "No need to get snippy…"

"We'll meet outside the locker room at 0800 hours!" Sam exclaimed.

They made their way down to dinner, hungry, and unsure of what was ahead.

* * *

Everything had gone according to plan so far. Remus had managed to steal the invisibility cloak during the night from James' trunk. He slipped it in the inside pocket of his cloak that he would wear the next day at the match. All that was left was for Sirius to pluck up the courage to hit a bludger at his best friend…

"Okay, good luck guys. Merlin knows we're going to need it." Sam was giving Sirius and Remus a sort of pep talk before the operation would commence. The match was set to begin in five minutes.

Sirius had been a total wreck all day. He couldn't look James in the eye. When James asked him what the matter was, all he had to say was, "Oh, um…nervous – for the match, I mean…"

"Look, McGonagall's coming, better go do the commentary – good luck!" Sam shouted one last time as she ran towards a stern-looking professor in the stands.

Sirius looked glum once again, and Remus felt for his buddy, "Relax, Padfoot," He said as he put him arm on the beater's shoulder. "It's for Prongs' own good. He and Lily belong together, and if they won't do it, we have to make them."

"I…guess you're right." Sirius said, depressed, "Okay, got to get in my game zone…" Sirius inhaled, and then exhaled deeply. He shook out his limbs and cracked his neck joints. He then got down on his stomach and did a push-up. He jumped back up and inhaled and exhaled once again. Then he walked back into the locker room to get his team.

Remus had a confused sort of look upon his face as he watched Sirius walk into the lockers. He shook it off and then slowly made his way to the stands where he would await the end of the match, and his dismal part in the operation.

Sam, meanwhile, was setting up the magical microphone in the teacher's box. She had a clear view of the entire pitch. As soon as she saw James (who was the captain) and Diggory shake hands she began to speak into the microphone, her voice amplified 100x its original volume.

"Welcome to the first match of the season – Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff!" Everyone cheered. Then, they were off.

"The Quaffle is immediately snatched by Hufflepuff chaser Finch as the game begins. He's speeding toward the Gryffindor goals, he aims – oh! But is thrown off coarse by a bludger aimed by Gryffindor beater Black. He looks so handsome in his uniform – sorry professor." McGonagall sent her a piercing glare, "And the Quaffle is picked up by Captain James Potter of Gryffindor, he speeds down the pitch, oh, nice doge by a bludger hit by Hufflepuff beater Jeffrey. He's at the hoops – shoots – GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" The crowd erupted in many cheers as the first points were scored.

The game went on in a similar manner for the next 20 or so minutes. "Current score Gryffindor – 130, Hufflepuff – 20." Gryffindor was on fire, no one could stop James as he sped across the pitch and he and the other two chasers Chelsea Frank and Melissa Siegel. Sirius worked well with the other beater Morgan D'Agostino. The beaters both aimed Bludgers vigorously at Diggory as he glimpsed the snitch a couple of times.

"Finch passes to Lyons who aims, but it's blocked by Gryffindor keeper Michael Thomas – he passes it to Potter who speeds off to the other end of the pitch – oh! Looks like Diggory has spotted the snitch! He and Gryffindor seeker Callaway are racing in the air by the left Hufflepuff goal post – OH! Diggory is knocked off his broom by a bludger aimed by D'Agostino! That had to hurt – Callaway is speeding towards the ground – she's so close – wait – she's got it! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Sam screeched as the entire Gryffindor stands erupted is cheers.

Remus was unnoticed as he slowly made his way below the stands to slip on the invisibility cloak. As his image was erased from unwanted eyes, he walked onto the pitch. 50 feet above him in a swarm of red and gold the Gryffindor team was celebrating their first win of the season. He spotted a messy mop of raven-black hair and the ground beneath it. He silently cast a charm on the ground beneath his feet and it became soft and mushy. He waited for a certain chaser to fall to his supposed doom.

Sirius couldn't do it, he just couldn't. He looked at his best friend – how happy he was at his first win as Captain, and he couldn't do it. It wasn't human to hit him with a bludger now. Suddenly a small black object sped past Sirius' ear and into the mass of gold and red. Everyone heard a scream and a rush of wind as an object clad in scarlet and gold sped toward the ground.

Sirius spun around to look where the bludger had been hit from. He saw a smirking Hufflepuff beater – Goodwin, Sirius remembered his name was. He then looked back down on the ground where he saw three bodies. Remus and Sam were there, levitating an unconscious James off of the pitch.

_Hey, at least I didn't have to do it…_Sirius though to himself. He was, of course fuming at Goodwin, but he had more important things to do. He sped like lightning toward the ground where he snatched up James' broom, which was, thankfully, in one piece, and rushed toward the three exiting people.

* * *

They let James down on the soft, Hospital Wing bed, thankful that Madame Pomfrey was not present. Sirius stood there, two brooms clutched in his hands, and a dark look on his face. Remus stood next to him, his right hand resting on his temples and he tried to think what he had just done.

"God, I stunned him, he's going to murder me…" Remus whispered as he looked down upon his unconscious friend.

Sam sat next to James on the bed, knowing that he was, in fact, alright, but still thinking how stupid this plan was. Until none other than Lily Evans cam rushing through the Hospital Wing door.

"Sam! Sam is he – he's alright, is he? Oh please tell me he's alright!" She said frantically as she rushed toward the bedside.

Sam was smiling, but then decided to put on a show, "Lily – I – I don't know. He hasn't woken up yet, what should we do?" She said in the same frantic voice as Lily.

Sam made eye contact with Remus who silently performed the counter curse for the stunning charm he had put on James earlier.

James' eyes slowly awoke to meet worried eyes of an emerald green looming over him. "L – Lily?" He asked, confused. Where was he? He remembered winning the match, and then Goodwin behind Sirius and then hitting something soft…

"Merlin, James! You scared the bloody hell out of me!" Lily told him as he sat up in bed.

"It's okay Lily, I – I'm alright now." He said meeting her eyes and smiling. He noticed her eyes were watery and her face was flushed.

Sirius couldn't hold it in anymore "Operation success!" he exclaimed as he jumped up, slapping Remus a high-five.

"Operation?" Lily asked, whirling around to meet the black eyes of Sirius, "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

Sirius' face became shocked at the utter realization of what he had just said. "Um…it – it's nothing Lily. Just a – err – oh look! I believe I see Poppy! Shall I got and fetch her then?" He looked around and Sam was piercing him with an angry glare.

Lily took her wand out of her cloak pocket and stalked toward Sirius, "Listen here Black, you'd better tell me what this is all about or I'll hex you into the next century!"

So Sirius told her. He had no idea why, but he did. And Lily didn't take it lightly. "You three are the filthiest bunch of hypocritical oafs I have ever had the misfortune to meet!" She gave Remus, Sirius, and then Sam a hurt look mixed with raging anger. She then turned to face James, who was now on his feet.

"Lily –" he started.

"This never happened, Potter," She whispered and then ran out of the Hospital Wing.

James arched his shoulders and slowly stalked out of the room. He gave the three a hurt look, and then shut the door behind him.

"Operation failure," Sam said as she stared at the door that two people who were meant for each other had just left all because of their failed attempt at salvation.

* * *

**A/N:**_ I know, I know. But what kind of story would it be if everything worked out. This way we can have more emotional struggle and action. Who liked the plan? there's a better one coming up, just wait._

**Do I need to tell you what to do?**

8


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Commitment Problems**

If possible, things had gotten worse than before Sam, Sirius, and Remus had attempted the operation, because now, the friends wouldn't talk to each other.

"Merlin, James! I was only trying to help!" Sirius had tried to persuade his best friend that it was for the best and he didn't mean for it to go so horribly wrong. They were in the common room and James was about to storm out.

"Well then," James turned to face the black eyes of his friend. "Thanks for screwing up!" he turned back toward the portrait hole and left for dinner.

Sirius cursed under his breath. He looked over at the window to look at Remus who was staring into the night sky. He wasn't the same since Jill had left, always mulling about his days in a state of depression. He had lost not only his girlfriend, but someone he loved with all his heart. Sirius knew it was pointless to try and suede him, so he slowly made his way to the Great Hall to meet Sam for dinner.

Lily cautiously peeked her head from up in the girl's dormitories. She was looking to see if James was in the common room, she had been avoiding him for a week now, ever since the "accident." Her eyes spotted a lone figure staring out the window; she gave Remus a look of pity. Lily, being her kind self, walked over to comfort him.

"Hey." She greeted him, "Something wrong?" His grey eyes met hers, and for the first time since Halloween, Lily realized just how much he missed Jill.

"No." He said then turned to gaze out of the window again.

"Oh, don't give me that Remus," Lily sat down next to him, "You miss Jill."

Remus looked at his hands, and then turned his body to face Lily. "No duh, Lily," He told her, "I lost the love of my life on Halloween, and I'm never going to see her again, and even if I do," He sighed with sadness, "She won't even know me."

"Jill wouldn't have wanted you to become like this." Lily said, "You two had such life when you were together. Look at yourself, Remus, all that life is gone. Jill would've wanted you to keep it."

Remus faced the window, but not to look at the stars, but to look at his reflection. He looked like crap, the full moon was the day after tomorrow, but it wasn't his appearance that got to him. It was the feeling that was etched into his face. It was a complete look of emptiness.

"Remus," Lily grabbed his chin and turned his face to look her in the eye. "It's okay to miss her. But think, she loved – _loves_ – you. No memory charm can change that."

"I…I know," He admitted, "I just wish she was back here, like it was before."

"She still is." Lily smiled at him, he smiled back.

"Thanks, Lily." He told her, "But I'm not the only one around here who's depressed about someone."

Lily looked away from him, "I'm hungry, I think I'll go to dinner, care to join me?"

"Don't avoid the subject Lily," Remus moved so that they were looking at each other, "You love James, and no stupid Ravenclaw is ever going to change that. You know that whole Jamie thing was a big misunderstanding."

"I know that, but…I don't know if I love him…" Lily admitted.

"What do you mean?" Remus was very confused. "I thought…"

"Remus, you don't know what it's like." Lily told him, "To have someone love you, pour their heart out on a platter for you…and everyone expecting you to love them back." Lily sighed, "I don't know if I could ever love James as much, it's not fair to him. I'm angry."

"I understand what you're saying," Remus said, "But all we can do is live our lives and hope everything turns out alright. Love happens."

* * *

It was the next day and James was determined; he had to talk to her. He had to explain everything that happened; he couldn't take it anymore. Every moment he had thoughts of her, those emerald eyes and red hair.

He was waiting outside of the Fat Lady for Lily to come out. He would wait all day if necessary. Soon enough, the portrait swung open and James met eyes of emerald green.

"Lily," James said.

"What do you want?" Lily asked him, starting a brisk pace to the right.

"Lily, talk to me," James pleaded.

"What do you want?" Lily stopped and turned to look at him.

"I just...that tutoring thing was an enormous accident, you know that." James explained, but Lily was silent. "I miss you." He looked at the floor.

James reached down and took her hand in his. Lily looked at their entwined fingers, but then shook her head.

"I'm sorry…I – I can't." She jerked her hand away from James, and then ran in the opposite direction.

All James could do was watch Lily go.

He slowly leaned against the wall and sank to the floor.

"Damn it, Lily."

* * *

Lily ran and ran until she reached Sam's room. She had to take refuge in her friend. Lily knocked on the door, and luckily Sam opened and was the only one inside.

"Merlin. Lily, what's the matter?" Sam asked. Lily had tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

"Can I come in?" Lily softly asked.

Sam stepped aside and pointed to her bed. "Sit right down and tell me what in bloody hell happened already."

Lily walked in and sank onto Sam's bed. "I ruined it Sam, everything."

"Lily, details please." Sam pushed.

"James." Lily spoke, and then softly sobbed into the blanket on the bed.

Sam understood. "We really need to work on you commitment problems."

* * *

The most part of December went by in a haze for James and Lily. James spent his evenings outside in the frigid cold by the lake. Lily spent hers huddled up in the library until she was kicked out, and then she collapsed on her bed until the healing power of sleep graced her.

All Remus, Sam, and Sirius could do was watch helplessly and two of their best friends killed themselves day after day. Everyone got little sleep that month. But the holidays came and everyone was excited to take a break from the schoolwork.

Remus was going home to his parents. Sirius and James were going back to the Potter's house. Sirius was determined to cheer James up somewhat. Sam was spending Christmas in Switzerland with her aunt. However, Lily was spending Christmas at the school. Sam tried to persuade her to come with her to Switzerland, but Lily wouldn't go.

Remus greeted his parents warmly at the platform, hugging them and telling them that his term at school was fine, as he always had. Upon arriving at his house, he trudged to his room on the second floor and dropped his trunk at the foot of the bed. He took out one thing: a picture of Jill.

The picture captured Jill in her essence, her dark hair was shining and she was grinning widely. Remus looked at this picture every night since Jill had left. He lay on his bed looking at it until his father came up to call him down for dinner.

"Remus?" Mr. Lupin called, slowly opening the door to his son's room.

Remus sat up and put the picture down on his bed, "I'll be down in a second, dad."

"What's that you're looking at?" Mr. Lupin asked. He took a glance at the picture. "Hey, that's my patient."

"What?" Remus looked at his father, confused.

"Jillian Jones, she lost her memory, poor thing. Did you know her?"

"Yeah," Remus whispered, "Yeah, I knew her."

"Would you like to visit?" Mr. Lupin inquired to his son. The man smiled knowingly.

It took a second for Remus to process this question. "What? Visit? You mean it?"

"Sure, I don't know what good it will do, but you could come to work with me tomorrow."

"Thanks, dad," Remus smiled for the first time in weeks.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Jill is coming back! Yay! The next chapter is one of my favorites, I hope you will feel the same way._

**Pretend I have a fatal illness and the only cure is reviews!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Revelations**

"Come on, son, she's on the 5th floor."

After breakfast the next morning Remus and his father had set off for St. Mungo's. By the time they had stepped through the glass of the closed-down drug store, Remus was feeling pretty nervous. What would it be like? What would it be like for him to see her now?

"Okay, dad." Remus replied to his father's call. He entered the magical elevator and watched as his father pressed the number five on the wall. By this time Remus's hand were becoming clammy. The door opened and the Lupins walked out. It took what seemed like hours for Mr. Lupin to lead them to the third door on the left.

It was Jill's ward.

Jill was in there.

Right there.

"Son, before we go in, I must warn you." Mr. Lupin turned to face Remus.

"Ab-about what?" Remus asked nervously.

"It can sometimes be…very emotional, for people to see their old friends without their memories. And I suspect she was more than a friend to you." Mr. Lupin managed a small smile.

"Dad, I…" Remus thought for a moment. "I think I'll be alright."

"If you're sure…" Mr. Lupin stepped aside and opened the door for his son. "She's the last bed on the right."

Remus walked slowly and cautiously, taking one step at a time. The last bed on the right his father had said. It was coming closer and closer. So close.

He was there.

Jill was too.

She looked the same. Her brown hair was still silky and dark eyes still warm. In her pajamas she lay on her bed, reading a book. On the nightstand was a picture of what Remus suspected to be her parents. She then realized she had a visitor, and swung her legs over the side of her bed so that she was sitting on the edge.

"Hello." She spoke first. And Remus was so happy that he couldn't reply. "Who are you?" she then asked, and then he softly started crying, taking a seat next to her and putting his head in his hands.

What had he expected? Had he expected for everything to be the same? For Jill to still be the same person he had fallen in love with? For her to still love him?

"Oh shoot. Did I say something? Everyone always cries when the come to visit me." Jill asked him, concerned.

"No," Remus managed to respond, "No, it's nothing. Hello."

"Hello." She told him again. "My name is Jill, they told me that. Do you know me too?" She grabbed the picture off of her night stand, "These people say they're my parents. They come visit a lot, very nice people…What's your name?"

She didn't even remember her parents, or him.

"My name is Remus." He croaked out, "Yes…yes I did – do know you."

Jill fiddled with at something around her neck. It looked familiar to Remus. Suddenly, he remembered – the necklace!

"Is that – where did you get that?" Remus stuttered out.

"I can't remember." Jill looked confused. "I was just wearing it, I guess. I like it very much, isn't it beautiful?"

Remus couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, it is." She still had it. "Sorry," he continued, "But do you mind if I kiss you?"

"What?" Jill giggled.

"Kiss you." Remus stated again.

"You're serious?" Jill questioned, Remus nodded his head. "Well…I don't suppose why not…sure."

Remus didn't hesitate; he held up her chin and captured her lips in his. Instantly it was like a jolt of electricity was sent through both their bloodstreams.

This was magic.

Memories from every space and time came rushing into Jill.

"_Lily…can we talk?" Jill asked._

"_Of course Jill, what's up? Wait, let's go in my room." _

"_Sam asked Remus out…and he said yes." Jill confided in her friend. "I don't know why he would say yes. I mean, we had just talked for over an hour in the library, we did our herbology homework together…We were having fun…but Sam is a thousand times more beautiful than me, I could never win Remus, I never even had a chance…"_

"_Why did you crash into me Remus?" Jill asked him._

"_I was just going to find you…" Remus said sheepishly._

"_What for?" Jill said._

"_To do this," Remus told her, then engulfed her in a kiss._

_Everyone just stared at them kissing…Then Sam broke the silence, telling Sirius, "You know Remus is kissing your girlfriend, right?" Remus and Jill still hadn't broken apart._

"_You like it?" Remus asked._

"_Yes." Jill said. "It's beautiful."_

"_You got it." Remus told her._

_Remus and Jill left the shop; Jill had the necklace around her neck._

"_Remus, thank you so much," Jill turned to face him and started to kiss him. After a brief, shining moment, they broke apart._

"_You're welcome, Jill." Remus said and hugged her._

They broke apart, their hands entwined. Jill was wide-eyed as she realized what had happened to her.

"Wow," Was all she could say.

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry." Remus quickly splurged out. "I'll leave now." He turned to go away, but Jill's hand stopped her.

"Remus, I remember!" She was ecstatic and was grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" Remus was shocked. "What do you mean?"

"Remus John Lupin," Jill took his hands in hers, "This is what I mean." And she pulled him in for another kiss.

"Remus," Jill said when they broke apart, "You're crying." She smiled and wiped his tears from his cheek.

"I'm just so happy." He whispered, "I missed you. So, so much."

"I love you." She told him tenderly.

"I love you, too."

All of the healers in the memory ward were stumped. Stumped and confused.

How did it happen?

* * *

**A/N:**_ Okay, who loves me? I missed Jill soooooooo much!!! I figured this was proper since the Harry potter books are supposed to be based on love and stuff and love is the most powerful form of magic. Why couldn't love overcome a simple memory charm?_

**Review and say how much you missed Jill!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Jill Is Back**

_Christmas at Hogwarts...alone,_ Lily thought to herself as she lay in the empty Heads Dorm at 8:00 Christmas morning.

She had heard nothing from Sam, no letters at all. From anyone. Lily knew it was her own fault for deciding to spend Christmas at the school, just to wallow away in her misery. But something happened that morning; Lily decided she would get over James Potter.

"I will get over him." Lily said to herself, determined.

She looked hopelessly at the pile of presents at the foot of her bed. They were all beautifully wrapped and seemed as though they were calling her. So she started to open them and by 9:00 wrapping paper covered her bed and presents scattered the floor.

Sam had gotten her a magical, gorgeous, very delicate hair pin. It was carved with sparkling vines and you just told the pin what you wanted to do with your hair and it did your hair for you. Remus had gotten her an advanced magic book, it recorded spells from thousands of year ago, very ancient magic. Her parents had gotten her assorted gifts, most of which scattered the floor. Those gifts included a scarf, muggle books (which Lily loved), candy and sweets, and your basic everyday gifts. That's why Lily loved her parents so much, they were so traditional. There lacked a gift from Petunia, Lily noticed, but did not care much, she hadn't sent Petunia anything either.

There also, Lily noticed, was no gift from James.

"Excuse me miss," A high squeaky voice said from the doorway to her room. Lily turned to see a house elf bowing to her.

"Hello," Lily replied, confused, "How can I help you?"

"Sooty is here to deliver, Miss. A gift has just been sent to Miss from someone. Sooty is sorry for interrupting Miss's Christmas, Miss." The house elf (whose name was apparently Sooty) answered. Sooty took a package from behind her back and handed it to Lily on her bed.

"Thank you, Sooty." Lily thanked the house elf, but the next second Sooty was gone and Lily was left alone in her room once more.

"Weird," Lily breathed to herself. She looked at the package it read _Lily Evans_ on the brown paper, but nothing else. She ripped open the package to find a small box slip out as well as a card.

_Lily, _the card read. _I know you might not believe this, but it happened. I'm me again. Your old buddy from the first train ride to Hogwarts. And no, I'm not Samantha. Remus came to the hospital, he saved me, Lily. I don't know how it happened, so don't ask, but I'm back and that's all that matters._

_Loosing my memory was very painful, it was like one moment, I'm Jill and the next I was someone else, but I wanted to be Jill again, Lily. So badly. But I can thank Remus for that._

_I'm coming back to school on Boxing Day, be there, okay? I'm telling Sam to come too. I just want to see you guys so badly. I'm spending Christmas with Remus, his parents are really nice. I already spent five days with my parents catching up, but they understand. I guess they were in love once too._

_See you then,_

_Jillian Jones _

"Oh Merlin." Was all Lily could say. She opened the small box that came with the letter. Inside was a locket, it had a small moving picture of Lily, Sam, and Jill sometime in fifth year. They looked so happy.

Jill was back.

* * *

The sun rose bright and early on Boxing Day. Lily awoke with the light and quickly took a shower and got dressed. She used Sam's amazing hair clip and told it to put her hair back loosely. It did just as she had said. There must have been some charm on it to make the wearer look more beautiful, because Lily thought she looked gorgeous.

She ran through the halls of the school to the Great Hall and grabbed some toast off of a table. Lily gobbled the toast up and ran to the Gryffindor common room only to smash into a certain blond girl coming out of the portrait hole.

"Damn Lily, why are you running?" Sam asked.

"Sam!" Lily exclaimed.

"Gods, Lily!" Sam cried as they hugged as if they hadn't seen each other for years.

"Did you get the letter from Jill? I wasn't dreaming?" Lily asked frantically.

"You weren't dreaming, because I got it too!" They both erupted into tears of joy.

"Um…not how I imagined seeing my two best friends…" A soft, amused voice said across the hall.

They turned to look into the warm, dark eyes of none other than Jillian Jones.

"Jill!" Both Lily and Sam exclaimed. They ran to their friend and all three were crying as they shared a warm, three-way hug in the middle of the hallway.

"What? No hug for me?" Remus asked, staring at the three girls, smiling.

Lily and Sam both ran to Remus and kissed him on opposite cheeks. Then, Sam walked back to Jill and started chatting profusely with her.

"I don't know what you did or how you saved her," Lily whispered to Remus, "But I'm glad you did." She smiled and he smiled back at her.

"I'm glad, too." was his simple reply. There was no way for him to express the pure joy of seeing his love back to the way she really was.

Boxing Day was spent cozily in the common room where three friends and their other friend were happier than they had felt since Halloween.

The next few days the four students happily reminisced of old times and talked of future plans. But on the last day of December, Remus wrote letters of explanation and joy to Sirius, James, and Peter. They deserved to share in this happy gathering (plus he needed some serious testosterone in that school, fast). Sirius and James were there at lunch, Peter was there before dinner.

All three greeted Jill warmly, and for a couple of hours Remus spent some well-overdo time with the Marauders. The only thing that was different from before was that Lily and James couldn't look each other in the eye.

But what Lily and James didn't know was that there was some more serious plotting between team Lily/James.

* * *

"I can't even stand to look at them!" Jill exclaimed pacing up and down the Room of Requirement, in front of a couch that held three people. "It sickens me!"

Jill had only recently learned of James and Lily's rocky relationship, and she was shocked. She had also learned about Sam, Remus, and Sirius's failed attempt of getting them back together. She was an instant member of Team Lily/James.

"Jill, we've tried, it's hopeless." Sam reported sadly.

"No it's not!" Jill said, "Because before you didn't have me and my evil, but effective ways."

"I like the sound of that." Sirius said, smiling.

"Jill, are you sure about this?" Remus asked his girlfriend.

"Absolutely." Was Jill's reply, "Here's my plan…"

* * *

**A/N:**_ Hehehe. Another Plan... any guesses? Who am I kidding? You'll never be able to guess in a million years, trust me._

**Pweedy pweedy pweesw leave a tiny review???**


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N:**__ Hehehe. Guess there was an ity bity cliffie at the end of last chapter. Don't worry, this chapter explains everything. The Plan is something of genius. Oh, and if Lily doesn't seem quite like herself, don't worry. She is very emotionally…hurt? I guess, just don't be upset if she's not hard to convince or anything. Anyway, hope you like the chapter!_

**Chapter 13: Love and Lies**

"We're never going to pull this off." Sam muttered to Jill.

"Yes we will!" Jill argued back quietly, "Just remember the plan."

They were walking through Hogsmeade on a brisk January morning. Light flurries fell on the streets making the entire town look picturesque.

It had taken constant persuasion to get Lily to get out of bed that morning and to come on the trip. Jill had created a plausible lie as to why she and Sam had to go off. Lily was now stuck with Sirius at the Quidditch store, and James was with Remus at Zonko's.

But it was all apart of the plan.

* * *

"Check this out!" Sirius exclaimed, "The new Cleansweap 300!" He was staring at a polished broom in a glass case in the store.

Lily reluctantly looked at the broom, surely it was pretty nice, but she was not a sports type of girl.

"Yes, it's very nice, Sirius." She told him. How did she end up here? She didn't even remember the horrible excuse Jill had told her.

"Hey Lily," Sirius said, "Do you fly much?"

Lily was surprised at the question, "Not at all," She smiled meekly.

"I'll teach you!" He exclaimed.

"No way!" Lily stopped him, "I hate flying, and I couldn't even get off the ground in first year."

"But I'm a better teacher," Sirius pushed, "You'll be fine."

Lily though for a moment. She had to get over James; Lily knew she was dying inside her own head. She was so cautious, no risks attached. Was this a way to break out of her shell?

Besides, she trusted Sirius.

"Alright then," Lily said, "Let's go."

Sirius smiled. It was all apart of the plan.

* * *

"I had no idea they even made these!" James exclaimed as he was walking out of Zonko's carrying a rubber chicken that was moments before a wand.

"I expect they will be popular for a long while after this." Remus replied, "Zonko's continues to amaze me. Fake wands!"

The two boys walked into The Three Broomsticks to grab a couple of butterbeers. They soon walked out to the outskirts of town and sat down in front of a large oak tree to drink they're warm refreshments. They could see the Shrieking Shack to their backs, merely ten yards away. The warm drink accompanied with the brisk air made the both feel like that was how winter was meant to be spent.

Across the dirt road was a large valley and James could make out two lone figures. One, he noticed, had distinguishable red hair.

"Moony, do you by any chance know why our dear friend Sirius Black is attempting to teach the infamous Lily Evans how to ride a broom?" James hid his astonishment rather admirably because in truth, he was utterly shocked and outraged.

"I have no idea prongs…" Remus said falsely; he had never been a good actor.

But James, luckily, did not notice Remus' failed attempt to hide his knowledge. Seeing as he was distracted by the red-headed figure rising, slowly, fifty feet into the air. Deep in his chest he felt a sense of pride for Lily. That pride was suddenly replaced by utter horror; Lily's broom was thrashing about in the air and she looked like she was clinging on to the stick for dear life.

Before James had even processed what was really happening, the broom, with Lily still clinging, sped across the valley and over James's head. The boy ran after it with all of his might until he was face to face with the shrieking shack. Lily's broom crashed through a second story window and James could hear her scream. He ran into the building and the door shut behind him.

Little did he know that a certain Remus Lupin was standing guard outside of the shack. Or that a certain Samantha Brown was inside, waiting for her cue. Or that the well-known Sirius Black summoned Lily's broom and was taking it back to the Quidditch store in town.

Or that this was all part of a plan created by the evil, but effective Jillian Jones.

"Lily, bloody hell!" James cried as he rushed to the girl who was shakily getting up off of the floor.

"James! You scared me!" Lily told the raven-haired boy, as she sat down on the dusty old bed in the room. "What are you doing here?"

She didn't seem to notice that she sustained no injuries.

"I saw you crash and I–" He paused. It wasn't his responsibility to care about Lily anymore. "I guess I was just worried. I'll go now…" James turned to leave.

"James, hold on a second!" Lily stopped him. "I am sorry, you know. Even though I don't have the right to feel that way,"

"Bloody well don't have the right," James muttered under his breath.

"I just…" Lily started, "I could never bring myself to love you as much as you loved me. It wasn't fair to you, really. You deserved someone who's more…well, emotional than I am."

"Love you." James corrected. "As much as I still love you, Lily Evans."

"You don't talk to me anymore, you never sent me a Christmas present. I got you something…I just never had the guts to send it." Lily admitted.

James was remembering how he had gone out to town to buy Lily a present. He hadn't had the guts to send it to her either. Suddenly, as if someone had read his thoughts, a lone necklace fell out of the air with a small note attached. Neither Lily nor James knew how that necklace had come to be there. In fact, James remembered distinctly locking it up at the bottom of his trunk which was now under his bed at the school.

Samantha Brown smiled under James's invisibility cloak which was so cleverly stolen, along with the necklace, by Sirius earlier that morning; James had been in the shower. She silently slipped out of the room with naught but a creak from a loose floorboard.

Luckily James and Lily did not hear this creak for Lily had snatched up the necklace off of the dusty floor and read the tiny note card attached:

_Lily, _

_I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you leave. __I will always love you and no one else, __even if you'll __never forgive me in this lifetime. _

_Happy Christmas._

_All of my love, _

_James_

"James…I…" Lily could not continue. Waterfalls of tears were streaming down her face. The necklace had been beautiful, a single emerald surrounded by five diamonds on a gold chain.

"It's true, you know," James said quietly, "What it says there."

He looked into the tearing, emerald eyes of his one true love.

"Merlin, Lily," He spoke, "You really think I care if you don't love me as much? What matters is that I can't live without you and you know that us being apart is tearing you up inside. I know you feel that way, because that's only half as painful as what I've been through. I love you Lily." He finished with a tear of his own running down his left cheek.

"You know, James," Lily moved towards him, "I think I love you too. If that's what I'm feeling in my head and in my heart, than I'm prepared to shout it out to the world. I love James Potter. Now nothing can ever change that."

The remaining space between the two was filled within a second. Their lips touched and it soon became deeper, more passionate. For what seemed like a few sunlit hours, they broke apart and just stood there, holding each other.

James spoke first, "How much do you want to bet that Remus is standing guard outside of the shack?"

Lily chuckled, "Let's go break the news."

Both smiled as they walked through the shack.

Love was beautiful.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew was slowly walking deeper and deeper into the forbidden forest. It was also, the boy noticed, getting very cold. What was he even doing? He had no idea. But a strong sense of loneliness was set into his chest. Oh yes, Peter knew what his friends were doing; they were trying to find the lost love of Lily and James. Of course it hadn't occurred to anyone to include insignificant Wormtail into their plan. It didn't matter where he was to the small group anymore.

That morning Peter told Remus a short lie about where he was going. It seemed so easy to lie to Peter for some reason. But of course, they had lied to him by not telling him anything. The farther he went past the trees the darker and chillier it became. Peter was shivering by the time he had seen the green light. "Keep going until you see a flashing light." Malfoy had said. Lucius had asked Peter to join a club. The purpose of this club Peter knew not, but at least someone had included him.

He was sick of all the lies.

The light was coming from a small clearing. Ten or eleven black-clad figures stood in a circle around one person.

"My lord," said the distinguishable voice of Lucius Malfoy, "Potter's friend is here."

The head of the figure in the middle of the circle turned quickly to face Peter. The boy froze when he realized that he was staring at none other than the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"Wormtail, is that what you are called?" Voldemort asked. Peter gave a short, jerky nod. "Well then, Wormtail. Welcome to our midst."

Peter was shocked.

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

_**A/N:**__ //Cries\\ and the betrayal begins. Has anyone wondered why Peter went to the Dark side? Well, this is the Hogshire version. _

_But who is happy that James and Lily are back? Everyone _**review**_ and tell what you thought of the plan. Evil but effective, huh?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Dared to a Tickling Death**

"My friends, the time has come for us to once again make an impact on our world!" Voldemort was rallying up his followers at the Death Eater meeting. Peter was still present.

"James Potter." The Dark Lord continued. "He is the rising wizard who eventually, with much training, might become my downfall. Normally, we would not pay much attention to these threats, but times are changing. This war is coming to an end and we must take every precaution necessary to make sure it ends in our favor! The Potters are a very ancient and wise family. The parents of James Potter are the two most powerful aurors alive today. We will change that. With an emotional blow like losing one's family, James Potter will want revenge. It will lead him straight into our midst, and to his death. The way to get to James is to kill his parents. We must act swiftly.

"Now, leave the parents to my doing. But we must be prepared for the child! That is your duty as Death Eaters and supporters of this cause."

* * *

Everyone was ecstatic and overjoyed when they heard that Jill's plan had worked and Lily and James were back together. Lily and James were now in a state of bliss. Being apart for so long only made them stronger when they got back together. After a few hours of walking around the school after the Hogsmeade trip, they were instantly dubbed "Hogwart's Cutest Couple." Or as Sirius loves to call them "Lovesick monkeys with separation issues."

After hearing about Jill's Plot, which had been a success, James and Lily weren't angry, but thankful for their wonderful friends. Well, they _were_ a bit angry for letting their friends pull a trick on them, but in they end they were happy it had turned out for the better.

"Hey Lily!" Sam called. Jill was with her.

Lily looked up. It was late on a Friday night and she was snuggled up in James' lap while reading her favorite muggle novel. "What is it, guys?"

Sam grinned, "Me and Jill were wondering if we could pry you out of the arms of James for one night. We were sort of planning a girl's night thing. Want in?"

Lily smiled. "Yeah, I want in." It would be nice to spend a night with her friends. "You don't mind, do you James?"

"I don't know if I'll be able to spare you, Lily." James smirked, "I can't seem to function without you."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You can function for one night. Oh and do you mind sleeping in the boy's dormitory tonight so that we can use the Head dorm?"

"No problem. We'll have our own Boy's night, right gentlemen?" James asked toward Sirius and Remus.

Sirius smiled. "Sure we will! We'll do our nails, and talk about all of the cutest boys at Hogwarts!"

"Super fun." Remus said.

"Exactly!" James exclaimed. Lily kissed him goodbye.

James watched wistfully as Lily strolled out of the portrait hole and to their dorm. That they shared. Together. How he loved her. And they were back together. That moment in the Shrieking Shack seemed weeks ago, when it was only a few hours.

"Hey, Prong's, stop daydreaming about Lily and get you but up here!" Remus yelled.

James woke from his daze with a start. Sirius and Remus were halfway up the staircase.

"We have boy stuff to do!" Sirius told him. James rushed to catch up with his friends. This was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

"So Lily," Jill started. "What is it like to have the infamous James Potter back as your love puppet?"

They were sitting by the fire in the Head dorm with tons of fluffy pillows that Lily had conjured.

"Wonderful." Lily told them with a dreamy expression on her face.

Sam grinned, "I summed up that much."

"I really did miss him." Lily admitted.

"No duh, Lils." Jill said. "I came up with that plan for a reason, you know." She smirked, "and it worked, too."

Lily had to agree.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the 7__th__ year Gryffindor boy's dorm…_

"You were joking when you said about painting our nails and talking about cute boys, weren't you, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"No duh, Moony," Sirius replied, "I actually wanted to play a game." He smirked.

"What kind of game are you suggesting, my friend?" James questioned, a cheeky grin on his face.

"I was thinking Truth or Dare – well, just Dare." He smiled.

"What are the conditions?" Remus asked.

"If one does not accept a dare, they must suffer a deathly tickle attack from the other two contestants until they do." James put forth, grinning.

"Who wants to go first, James?" Sirius said. "I dare you to go down to the Slytherin common room and profess your undying love for old Snivellis. Oh, and you should plant one on the pest."

James gawked. "You can't ask that of me, Padfoot. I have a reputation."

"Are you rejecting?" Remus asked. He was almost giddy to tickle his friend to death.

"I didn't say that." James said. "Bu-but it's Snape!" he looked at the two faces smirking at him. "Alright, fine."

"Hold on," Sirius said as James stood up. "How do we know you did it?"

"I know a handy dandy little charm that just might help." Remus said, "It shows you a picture of where James will go and what he did while he was there."

"I've always loved you, Moony." Sirius said.

"Er… thanks." He replied.

James left the common room, but instead of falling out of sight, Sirius and Remus had a clear view of their friend on a magically created screen.

"It's like a movie." Remus observed.

"A what?" Sirius asked.

"Muggle thing." Remus replied and sat back to watch the show.

James walked to the dungeons slowly, mortified at what he had to do. He carefully planned how he was going to "profess his undying love" to his arch enemy. He conjured up a bouquet of flowers with his wand.

Upon arriving at the Slytherin common room, he slowly walked in to find Snape reading on a sofa in front of the fire. Every single student stared at James as he walked over to Snape.

"Severus," James said to get the boy's attention.

Snape looked up from his book to find his arch enemy standing in front of him – with flowers, no less!

"Potter? What are you –"

"Severus, why should we hide it any longer?" James sank down to his knees. "I love you, my sweet. I don't think that our houses should stand in the way of us being together. You know that you feel the same way. I hereby profess my true and undying love for you!"

James quickly pressed his lips to Snape's and pulled away. Then ran out of the room and back to the dormitory before any of the Slytherins had a chance to react.

"That was too brilliant, Prongs!" Sirius managed to get out. He was tearing up because his laughter was so hard. Remus was in a no better state.

"Yeah, well it's time for some payback, Padfoot." James grinned. "Dare _you_ to go back to the Slytherin common room and tell Snivellis that you can't stand to see me and him be together and that he deserves you more than me. Oh and plant another one on him, too."

Sirius became wide-eyed, but soon calmed down. "Alright – I will!"

Remus and James watched on the screen as Sirius ran back to where James had been minutes before. Snape was still in shock.

"Severlips! How could you be with someone as trivial as that Pot-head? I thought we agreed that we would love each other and no one else! I need you, my love!"

Sirius planted his lips on Snape's, but then ran away after a few seconds. When he arrived back at the dormitory, both of his friends were in hysterics.

James had tears streaming down his face. "S-sev-severlips?"

"Oh shut up." Sirius said. "I believe it is Remus's turn to humiliate himself. I dare you, Moony to stroll on down to the Head dorm and do a song and dance number to knock those girls' socks off!"

"No way! I can't sing!" Remus protested.

Immediately James and Sirius were on top of him, tickling him in all the right places. Soon enough, Remus couldn't take any more of it and managed to laugh out, "Stop! I'll do it!"

The other two boys stopped and watched the screen as Remus left.

He arrived at the Head dorm to find all three girls laughing in front of the fireplace, laughing at some funny thing.

"Remus, what are you doing here?" Jill asked, looking up at her boyfriend.

Remus broke into song. He danced around the room singing his heart out as if he were a Broadway star. The girls were in shock as he finished with a long note sliding on his knees.

He then got up, brushed himself off and strolled out of the room with his head held high.

"What in bloody hell was that about?" Sam said, breaking the silence.

Back in the boy's dormitory, all three marauders were laughing their heads off at Remus's performance.

"You should really consider that as a career for yourself, Remus." James exclaimed.

"Yeah, you were brilliant!" Sirius agreed.

Just then, none other than Peter Pettigrew walked into the dorm looked very nervous.

"Wormtail, buddy!" James said, "Where've you been, mate. Boy, did you miss a show!"

"Oh, well I-I was – er, um… in the library. Had to finish that DADA essay!" Peter stuttered out.

* * *

The next day James and Lily sat in the library. Professor McGonagall had asked them to plan a Valentine's Day Dance for the school. It was to promote school unity and, in James's opinion to "Let the bloody school have some fun for once." While planning, both Lily and James got to thinking what they would get for each other for Valentine's Day. They both wanted to get the perfect gift for each other.

**A/N: **_Happy 7/7/07 i guess! This was a fun chapter. I got the idea of a Truth/Dare game from a Harry/Ginny story I read over at SIYE (Well I just did dare). I was laughing hysterically just like Sirius, James, and Remus. Did you?_

**To make your 7/7/07 luckier than it alredy is, review for the story!!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: On Top of the World…For Now**

Things before Valentines Day were hectic. All the students were sneaking into Hogsmeade to buy their sweetheart a special gift, including Hogwarts' Cutest Couple. If that wasn't enough, Lily and James had to plan the Valentines Day dance by Friday.

"I just had the most brilliant idea, James!" Lily exclaimed excitedly Tuesday night.

"What is it, Lily?" James asked curiously.

"We should have a vote for Valentine King and Queen, and then the winners will have a spotlight dance. It'll be just like a prom." Lily explained.

"What's a prom?" James asked sounding confused.

"Muggle thing" Lily answered in monotone.

"Oh, but Lily that's a great idea, and we're a sure-in to win!" James exclaimed.

"Exactly this will but so much fun!" Lily kissed James on the cheek before running to tell Sam and Jill.

That Thursday at dinner Dumbledore made a very special announcement.

He said, "I'd like to introduce a new transfer student for Beauxbatons Academy, Shayla Divine."

A slim, tall girl with blonde hair worn in bouncy curls walked out but the most astonishing thing about her were her eyes, they were violet with ocean green specks in them. Almost every guy's mouth dropped when they saw her, even James Potter until Lily glared at him and his mouth quickly snapped shut.

"Eet eez an 'onor to be 'ere" Shayla said with a French accent.

Dumbledore directed her to sit at the Gryfindor table and she sat down right next to Lily and introduced herself.

"'ello, I am Shayla" she said confidently

"Hi, I'm Lily, and this is my _boyfriend_ James" Lily said looking at James expectantly

"Err...hi," was all James said.

At the end of dinner Dumbledore asked Lily to show Shayla to her dorm, which also happened to be Sam and Jill's dorm; she was to be a Gryffindor. They talked all the way to the dorm and continued talking with Sam and Jill once they were there. All of the girls became really good friends.

* * *

"Peter, who are you going with to the Valentines Day dance?" Sirius asked the next day. 

"N-no one" Peter answered nervously.

"Oh come on Marauders always need dates for dances!" Sirius exclaimed. "Why don't you ask that new girl, Shayla?"

"She would say no." Peter said meekly.

"I got an idea, why don't I ask her for you mate?" Sirius asked.

"You would do that for me?" Peter's eyes widened then he looked down at the floor.

"Of course, mate!" Sirius exclaimed confidently.

"But wouldn't she already have a date?" Peter asked.

Sirius shook his head. "No, Shayla has been spending all of her time with Lily. Boys have been asking her out like crazy, but Lily has been watching out for her to make sure she doesn't go out with a prat. No luck so far, I'm afraid. I'll ask her for you. Lily knows you're trustworthy."

Trustworthy.

"Thanks…" Peter had never felt guiltier.

Sirius left the dorm the next morning and found Lily and Shayla standing together in the common room.

"Happy Valentines Day, Lily-flower!" Sirius exclaimed happily the next morning, Lily laughed. "Shayla is just the girl I wanted to talk to. My friend Peter would like you to go to the dance with him." Shayla looked at Lily sort of silently asking with her eyes, Lily nodded.

Shayla said, "Tell eem to meet me 'ere before zee dance."

"Oh Lily-flower, one more thing," Lily turned to look at Sirius "Have you seen the lovely Samantha?" Sirius smiled.

"She went down to breakfast," Lily laughed.

* * *

"James what are you doing? We're going to miss our first lesson!" Lily looked around nervously 

"This is more important" James responded. Lily raised her eyebrows at him as if nothing was more important that school, but quickly lowered them when he handed her a red velvet jewelry box.

"Oh my!" Lily exclaimed as she opened the box and saw a beautiful gold charm bracelet. She fingered the charms, there was a heart, a lion, a broomstick, and many more, even one that said marauders. James picked it up out of the box and fastened it for her. She kissed him. "Thank you, I love it."

Lily then ran into her room and returned with a long package and then handed it to James.

"What's this?" James asked.

"It's your present of course, silly." Lily answered as she gave him an Eskimo kiss.

"Lily you didn't have to get me anything, your love is enough for me," James said sweetly as he tore off the wrapping paper "Wow, Lily, thanks!" James exclaimed as he held his very new Nimbus 1000 in his hands. "This is the newest model! I have to go show Sirius!" He gave her a quick kiss and then ran off like a little boy to show his best mate.

* * *

The girls were just finishing getting ready for the dance. Lily was wearing a pale green dress that had an emerald green bow around the waist and she had curled her hair. Jill was wearing a chocolate dress with pink hearts all over it and she wore her hair stick straight. Sam was wearing a dark blue dress with red vertical stripes and had red streaks in her hair. Shayla wore an ocean blue dress that matched her eyes with purple polka-dots on the skirt and she wore her hair in a low side ponytail. They wanted to knock their dates dead. 

The four marauders were waiting nervously at the bottom of the stairs for their dates. James in dress robes of navy blue, Sirius in black, Remus in a shabby light brown, and Peter in mouse gray.

Lily was the first to come downstairs. James's jaw dropped open at her sight. "Lily, I love you."

Lily giggled, "Right back at you, handsome." She stood on her toes to give him a kiss. "We have to go, we should be down there to explain about the contest."

They gave the three other men quick goodbyes as they exited the common room. Sam was the next to come down. Sirius had the same reaction as James.

"My Love." He said getting down on one knee and reaching for Sam's hand, which he kissed in a romantic gesture.

"Jill and Shayla will be down in a second, boys, I'll see you at the dance." Sam told Remus and Peter as she and hey boyfriend exited.

The next second two stunning beauties made their way down the spiral staircase into the common room. Remus smiled and went to give Jill a kiss. "You look beautiful, honey."

Peter was amazed at who exactly his date was. His eyes turned as wide as dished when he first gazed upon Shayla. She walked over to Peter and smiled.

"'ello Peter. You look very 'andsome." She grinned.

"Th-thanks." Peter said. "You look stunning,"

Shayla grinned, "Zank you,"

The Great Hall was lavishly decorated for that special Valentine's Day. Pink and purple and red and white were everywhere and the various couples dressed in likewise colors (the girls, anyway). A band was playing soft music before the real dancing began. They were the latest craze on the WWN – the Raging Hippogriffs.

"Hello everyone!" James's voice was magically amplified. "Thank you for attending the Valentine's Day Dance."

Lily continued, "We would just like to remind everyone about the contest for Valentine's Day King and Queen. Just put down who you believe is the best couple and insert the parchment into this voting box." She motioned next to her where a pink box stood with a slit to insert votes.

"And now," James said, "let the dancing begin!"

Immediatley some couples started to dance, some started to eat, and some went to vote for the King and Queen. Sam and Sirius ruled the dance floor with their twirls and spins. Remus and Jill stood quietly on the edge of the dance floor, chatting with other couples. Meanwhile Lily and James slowly rotated in the middle of the dance floor in each other's arms.

"Vould you like to dance?" Shayla asked Peter who was looking very nervous, as if unsure what to do.

"Well, I can't really dance very well, but I guess…" was his quiet answer.

Shayla led him to the dance floor as a moderate paced song started playing. "Just relax, Peter." His date told him, taking the lead in the song. After a while, his nerves calmed down and Peter started to actually enjoy himself. He was with a gorgeous girl, who really seemed to like him for an unknown reason.

The minutes slipped by and before anyone knew it, it was time to announce the King and Queen. Lily and James made their way up to the voting box.

"_Sonorus!_" James pointed his wand at his throat. "Everyone, it's time to announce our King and Queen!" The hall hushed at once and waited anxiously for the winners to be announced.

Lily tapped the box twice with her wand and a slip of paper shot out of the slot. James caught it and announced to the entire school.

"Lily Evans and James Potter!" he beamed at Lily. "Well, what do you know?"

"Yeah, no surprise there!" Sirius yelled from his spot in the crowd.

The school applauded the King and Queen as Lily and James made their way to the middle of the dance floor for their spotlight dance. The Raging Hippogriffs played a slow, romantic song.

"They look very… 'ow you say… 'cute' togezer." Shayla told Peter as they watched Lily and James gaze into each other's eyes as they danced together.

"Yes, they do." Peter told her with a little regret as to what he was doing in the forbidden forest. "I had a very nice time tonight, Shayla."

"Me as vell," She replied and kissed him on the cheek. Peter felt great.

But soon enough Voldemort would have his own plans. That day Peter was determined to enjoy himself, because he didn't believe that he could live with himself as soon as the evil plot unfolded. He stared at Lily and James slowly rotating under the spotlight. James must have felt on top of the world.

That would all come to an end soon enough.

* * *

**A/N:** _//cries\ Why??? Anyway, I hope you lurved the dance. I sure did. But, my co-writer Emily gets props for the first half of this chapter. I just wrote the last half and helped with grammar. _

I have a super special announcement to make! One of your fellow readers has started up her own Lily/James FanFic and it's actually pretty amazing. I want you to all go and read it and review and say that Hogshire sent you. it's called "A Seventh Year Love Story" by _LilylurvesJames ThankGOD_ so pretty pretty pleaseeeeeeeee read it. I don't want to resort to threats, but...okay, just read it, search the name or author and READ IT!!! you'll be glad you did!!!!!

**Oh, and don't forget to review this chapter! Loved it? Hated it? Tell ME!!!**

**_And for the first time ever, your reviews determine the story! I was thinking of putting in a little Sirius/Sam fluffy chapter (but still significant) or I could do the Shayla/Peter one I was planning. So review and say which you would prefer first!!!_**

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Icy Water and Bad News**

_Sometimes McGonagall can drone on like Binns, and I thought I was rid of _that_ torture in sixth year._ Sirius was sitting in a last period Transfiguration class, waiting desperately for the last minute to tick away for his sweet, blessed freedom.

It was near impossible to concentrate on the explanation Professor McGonagall was giving on animagi. He was one after all, and he had already studied the topic for three years to become one. This was old news

Not to mention, Sam kept chewing in her lip as she was taking notes. She was one row ahead of him and Sirius could tell that she was just as anxious to get out of the class as he was. She kept glancing at the clock periodically. The lip chewing was not helping Sirius' patience.

_Holy crap, only five seconds._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

"See ya!" he exclaimed, at last the bell rang.

Sirius ran out of the classroom, not waiting for anyone. As soon as he got to the gradually filling hallway, he stopped and ran back into the classroom.

"Sam!" he shouted.

"What?" she replied, looking at him with a confused expression.

"Come on!" he yelled back, grabbing her arm and nearly dragging her out of the classroom.

"What are you doing?" Sam said with an annoyed tone.

"We are going…er..." Sirius started, "…swimming!" he added smiling.

"_What?_" Sam stopped walking, "Sirius Black it is forty degrees out there! The water is even colder."

Sirius only smiled wider. "Don't worry, babe, our love can withstand any temperature."

"Prat." Sam said, letting the edges of her mouth curl up. "I'll need a swimsuit."

"Of course," he kissed her and then they jogged their way up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Be back soon," Sam told Sirius. She ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories and Sirius did likewise, going up to the boy's dormitories.

Sirius blasted open the door and ran to his trunk.

"Padfoot," James. He walked into the room.

"Yes, Prongs?" Sirius asked absentmindedly, tipping out all of the contents of his trunk and beginning to sift through it.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Going swimming,"

"Why?"

"'Cause I want to, me and Sam, actually…"

James cocked his head to the side, "It's early March, mate. What, you and Sam are going to survive the brisk temperature with the heat of your burning passions for each other?"

"Exactly!" Sirius told him, running into the bathroom to change into his paw-print swimming trunks.

"Later Prongs!" the boy shouted as he ran out of the door, throwing a t-shirt on in the process.

James was wearing a shocked look on his face.

Sirius waited in the common room for about five minutes until Sam rushed down the stairs in a halter top bikini with shorts and a tank top over it. She was carrying two towels with her.

"Come on, slow poke!" She yelled and ran past Sirius.

He grinned and ran after his girlfriend.

They were still running when they reached the lake. Sirius tackled her down to the ground and began to tickle her mercilessly. She started laughing helplessly.

"Now you're in for it, missy!" Sirius said, lifting her up.

"Sirius, what –" she gasped. "No, Sirius! Stop, don't, please!"

But he only smiled and laughed. He then threw Sam into the ice cold water. She groped for the surface, sputtering and shivering. She looked angry.

"There's no need to push me in as well." Sirius told her, "Let me do the honors." He threw his shirt off and jumped in after her. The water was colder than ice, his heart nearly stopped from the shock of it.

"Merlin's pants that's cold!" the boy yelled when he reached for the surface.

Sam only glared at him. Teeth chattering, she splashed water into his face. He returned the splash and soon enough they were having an all-out water war with each other.

After about fifteen minutes they both decided that the water was too cold to be in any longer. Shivering and saoked to the bone, the two students stomped out of the lake and shivered more violently because of the slight breeze.

"H-he-here," said Sam, grabbing her wand off of the grass beside the towels and casting a dry charm over her clothes and swimsuit and over Sirius's trunks.

They both collapsed onto the grass and sighed deeply.

"You know," said Sirius, "I'm still feeling cold."

"Me, too," Sam replied. Her cheeks were pink and she was grinning, "let me help."

She snuggled closer into Sirius's arms and they rested just close like that for who knows how long. Both were perfectly content.

"Sam," Sirius murmured after an eternity.

"Hum?" mumbled Sam.

"I think I'm in love with you."

He could feel Sam's muscles tense and then relax in his arm.

"You know," She replied, "I think I am, too. But how are we sure?"

Sirius thought, "Well, I know that I've never been happier than this in a very long time. Ever, maybe. It's like you're the one person who I feel so vulnerable to, but I'm okay with it. Does that make sense?"

"You know, Mr. Deep," Sam smiled, "I know I love you."

That's when Sirius sneezed. "ACHOO!"

"Wow, you really can ruin a beautiful moment, there, Black." Sam said, laughing. "ACHOO!"

"Nice one, Brown." Sirius said with a smirk.

"I think we both caught cold from swimming like that." Sam told him, "We'd better go see Madam Pomfrey for some Pepperup Potion."

"Yeah, I guess we'd better." Sirius gave in. He sneezed for a second time.

"Come on," Sam stood up and then heaved her boyfriend to his feet.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, they gave Madam Pomfrey a quick explanation and took the potions with gratitude when they felt instantly better. That's when Lily, Remus, and Jill came running in.

"Sirius, Sam," said Jill when they had stopped. "Something dreadful has happened."

Sirius looked at the upset and crestfallen looks on each of his friends faces, and then looked concerned himself, "What is it?"

"Well, we were all in the common room with James, when…" Started Remus, "…there was an owl…"

He couldn't go on.

"Guys, what is it?" Sam asked, looking scared.

"The Potters," Lily said, "they're dead."

* * *

**A/N: **_Hey guys, sorry it took so long, but after I posted the last chapter only two people reviewed and told me what they would like in Chapter 16. Special thanks to those people, you know who you are. And who LOVED Deathly Hallows? I did, I thought it was awesome. Really awesome. It took me 13 hours to read it._

_Anywho, next chapter up soon!_

**Review!!! Please!!! I love you!!!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: WARNING in this chapter there are Deathly Hallows spoilers. If you haven't read DH, then we beg you to not read this chapter and just go out and get the book, _then_ read this chapter. Much thanks :-)**

Chapter 17: Loss

"How…who…why…?" Sirius sputtered, he wasn't making much sense. His eyes started filling up with tears but he was determined not to cry. He wiped his eyes and ran out of the hospital wing.

Sam started to run after him but Lily held her back, "He needs some time, and so does James we have to give them some space."

"I know, your right Lily" Sam said, "but I just wish there was something I could do"

"Why don't we go get some house elves to bring some food up for them?" Lily suggested and Sam nodded following her out of the hospital wing.

Sirius ran to the Head dorms stopping every once in a while to wipe his eyes. He had to get to James, no one else would understand, no one else could.

He got to the portrait said, "James is sexy, but Lily is sexier" but the portrait didn't swing open. _Ugh,_ Sirius thought and he started banging on the portrait.

James opened the portrait and said "I'm not in the mood for…" but he trailed off when he saw Sirius standing there.

"Changed the password?" Sirius said quietly.

James's eyes were swollen and bloodshot; he had been crying. "Oh, err…yeah…" he sighed, "I just didn't feel like being bothered at the moment."

"Mind if I join you?"

James stood aside and let his best friend into the room.

There was a letter on the coffee table that was crinkled, as if it had been read too many times. Sirius picked up the wrinkled parchment, and his face became crestfallen when he read the words.

_To one Mr. James Potter,_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We regret to inform you that on March 1, 1976 at 9:00 PM, Mr. Harold Potter and Mrs. Jane Potter were murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_Our condolences,_

_Alastor Moody,_

_Head of Auror Office,_

_Ministry of Magic_

"It's true, then?" Sirius asked.

"Mmhmm," mumbled James as he collapsed on the sofa. "Dumbledore is going to read us the will tomorrow; they left you something, too," He added motioning toward another piece of parchment on the floor.

Sirius timidly took a seat next to his best friend.

"They're really gone," said James. He started to softly cry into his hands.

Sirius could do nothing but join in.

* * *

James awoke the next morning to find himself on his common room sofa. He rubbed his eyes groggily and stretched his stiff muscles. He found Sirius next to him upside-down on the couch. He must have somehow ended up like that during the night. Then the events of the past afternoon flooded back to him. He breathed deeply.

His parents were anything but young; they had him late in life, but that only made them all the more closer. They were also skilled aurors, James felt more vulnerable and open to danger now that his parents were gone. He didn't know how much he had depended on their presence throughout his life.

He saw that the plates from their diner last night had disappeared. He said a silent thanks to Lily; he knew that the food was of her doing. She was all he had now. Sure there was Sirius and Remus and Peter, but Lily was his center.

He glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece of the fireplace. It was 8:00, two hours before the reading of the will. He sighed and turned to wake up Sirius.

"Padfoot, mate, time to get up," James shook his best friend's shoulder lightly.

"Mmmph," Sirius jerked awake and slid down to the floor, proceeding to bump his head on the ground. "Ouch,"

"We should get cleaned up and get down to breakfast. We have to go to Dumbledore's office in two hours."

Sirius fixed the position of his body and flexed his muscles tiredly. "Yeah, you're right. Meet you in the Gryffindor common room in fifteen?"

"Sure," said James, mustering a small smile. He turned to his bathroom.

"Hey," called Sirius, James turned to face him. "You all right?"

James looked at the floor, "I dunno,"

Sirius nodded and left.

The two boys entered the Great Hall twenty minutes later showered and dressed in clean clothes. The tables were laden with every breakfast food imaginable. Sirius walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Sam, he started picking at some bacon. James spotted a flash of deep red hair and followed his eyes.

Lily then spotted him as well and got up. She walked over to James and engulfed him in a deep hug. "Hey," she murmured.

James stroked her hair, which was down, and murmured back, "Hey,"

She led him to two seats across from Remus, Jill, Sirius and Sam, and next to Shayla and Peter (who had gotten very close since Valentine's Day).

Eventually, the owls arrived and _Daily Prophets_ were delivered, there began a swarm of whispers and hands pointed in James's direction. There was a front page headline on the Potter's murders. Peter was sitting on James's right and had a newspaper open to the front page open.

"Put that away!" Lily snapped at him.

"No," James said. He took the paper from Peter's hands and began to read.

_**You-Know-Who Strikes Again**_

_By Francis Skeeter_

_On March 1__st__, reports _Daily Prophet_ special correspondent, Francis Skeeter, well-known aurors Harold and Jane Potter were murdered while in their mansion by none other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. Death Eaters ransacked their home and their bodies were found under three feet of solid rubble from their walls. _

"_Their deaths were predicted," says an anonymous Ministry of Magic worker, "They were the best aurors alive. Why wouldn't You-Know-Who go after them? Terrible event, though…_

The article continued, but James could not read any further.

"I…" he began, "Sirius, we should go,"

Sirius looked up from staring at his full plate of food. Sam rubbed his arm as he got up. James stood as well, and Lily stood with him. James looked at her.

"Let me walk you," she told him, looking at him with her emerald eyes.

James did nothing, but let her depart with him and Sirius. When they started walking through the corridors, they met none other than Severus Snape.

"Well, well, well, James Potter," said the Slytherin mockingly. "Heard about your parents, so sorry…"

James started to move toward him, shaking with silent anger. Lily held him back.

"No, James, he's not worth it." She looked at Snape when she said it. "Go on to Dumbledore's office, I'll take care of it."

James looked at her with a confused expression, but still continued on, turning the next corner with Sirius.

When James was gone and out of earshot, Lily turned upon Snape.

"_What_ is you problem?" She asked angrily.

The black eyes of Snape narrowed, "_My_ problem? What's _yours_? Hanging out with the likes of Potter?" he spat out

"Merlin, Severus, I don't even _know _you anymore!" she looked at the ground and sighed, "What happened to you?"

"Lily-" he started, but she put her hand up.

"No, Severus," she looked at him with emerald eyes. "I am not nine years old anymore, and neither are you. Things have changed, as you have well noticed."

"Noticed?" he sounded exasperated, "Lily I have been watching you your whole life. Of course I have seen that 'things have changed.' And I-"

"Just _don't_!" Lily snapped. "If you hurt James now, you hurt me, too. That's it, no more questions."

Snape looked hurt, "Lily…"

"You don't want _Mulciber_ to see you talking to a 'Mudblood.'" Lily took one last, pitying look and her old friend and then left him standing alone in the deserted corridor.

He sighed and whispered, "…I love you…"

* * *

The next morning, James and Lily were walking to breakfast hand in hand.

"Lils," James said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"What was that about with you and Snape yesterday?"

She stopped walking and looked up at him, "Honestly? It was nothing, really, I was just sick of him, I guess. Just leave him alone now, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, letting the subject drop. They continued to walk.

"So, how was the reading yesterday?" Lily asked cautiously.

James had refrained from telling her about the will. The death of his parents was still a touchy subject with him. He had become withdrawn since the letter came. Lily had not seen him smile since.

"Oh, they just left me everything. Sirius got some gold as well."

"James," Lily stopped walking once again and looked into his hazel eyes, "I just want to make sure you know that whenever you need to talk, I'm here. Remember that."

"I know that, Lily." He told her, engulfing her in a warm embrace. "You're all I've got now, remember that." He couldn't stop a small tear escaping the corner of his eye.

They continued down to the Great Hall with James's arm around Lily's shoulder, and her arm around his waist.

They arrived at the Great Hall, Lily started eating quickly, "I need to hurry; I promised Hagrid that I'd help him get rid of the weeds in him pumpkin patch with a spell." She had always held a soft spot for the gamekeeper.

James nodded, and then kissed her goodbye when she left twenty minutes later with Peter who needed to go to the owlrey to send a letter.

By lunchtime Lily had still not returned. James was starting to worry.

"Hey Jill," James said, playing with his food.

"Yeah, James?" she asked.

"Have you seen Lily since breakfast?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, but no. She can't have been at Hagrid's this long, though."

That was when the doors to the Great Hall burst open. The ten-foot-tall Hagrid rushed down the isle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to the head table and began to whisper feverishly with Dumbledore.

"Something's up," Sirius said, looking up at the two talking men.

Then, the headmaster left through a door behind his table and Hagrid began to leave the Great Hall the way he came.

James, sensing trouble ran after Hagrid, catching up with him in the entrance hall.

"Hey, Hagrid, has something happened?" James asked, stopping the gamekeeper.

Hagrid looked down to James, "Oh, James, sumtin's happened, alrigh'."

"What is it?"

"Well, Lily was helpin' me with my gardenin' and then everything went black, sorta, I passed out. When I woke up, Lily wasn' there no more. There were sum footprints leading inter the forest, too. I think something's happened to her."

* * *

**A/N: **_To be continued...I know, we're being really mean to James, but makes for a great story, huh? For those who wanted a break from the fluffy madness - here it is!!! enjoy it. and who could see the Snape/Lily thing coming a mile away?_

**You _could_ review if you like, you know. Heck - I'm not stopping you!**

7


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N:** --Dodges rotten vegetables and sharp objects-- You all must hate us now. No update in... a looooooooooooong time. SORRY!!! But just think of now and this new chapter. and avoid sending hatemail._

**Chapter 18: Truth Forgotten**

It was cold.

It was dark

I shadowed abyss that Lily couldn't find her way out of.

_I feel like a Hagrid fell on my head. Hard…Wait, that didn't really happen, did it? Oh god. I need a healer. Why's it so cold? Oh no! Frostbite! Think of my nose – it might fall off! _

_Oh. Oh, god. What will James think of me without a nose?_

Lily struggled to move even an inch. Her hands were tied behind her back and there was a cloth tied tightly over her eyes. Her body ached all over, her ankle felt very, very wrong; it was twisted the wrong way. She mentally noted that the ground was hard, and she felt grass beneath her cheek. A twig was sticking into her back painfully and she could feel the bark of a tree rough through her robes.

How did she get there? She couldn't remember anything. Everything was blank after… Wait! That's right. Hagrid's. Weeds. Blackness. And now this. Cold, hard ground – probably in the Forbidden Forest. Whoever did this to her was going to pay big time. BIG time.

_Ouch. Thinking hurts._

In one quick, painful movement, Lily stood up. She screamed softly in pain. Her ankle was throbbing steadily and the tree she was leaning against was coarse, scratching her. She suddenly had a burst of inspiration. She took her wrists and started rubbing them against the rough bark. Slowly but surely, the ropes began to cut. After what seemed like forever, she was free.

There was a soft rustling to her left. Lily quickly hid her hands behind her back; she didn't want her captor to know she was untied.

"Lily?" the person asked.

The voice was all too familiar. Lily knew it all through her childhood years – but that was impossible. He wouldn't…

"S – Severus?" Lily whispered.

"Yes, it's me." He said back.

Her head was spinning. What was going on? Snape _kidnapped_ her?

"Remove this cloth at once, Snape, or you're going to be sorry you ever met me." Lily snarled.

Frigid hands untied the dirty cloth and Lily opened her eyes. Sure enough, Severus Snape was kneeling before her. A worried look over the same hateful face she had know all these years.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Alright? _Alright?_ The man has kidnapped her and he was asking if she was _alright_?

"No, you bloody bastard, I am not, in fact alright! Here I am – tied up, ankle seemingly broken, and frozen to the bone with a massively painful headache. _AND_, I might add – you kidnapped me! Now if your dense pea-brain had put those obvious facts together you would have realized that I AM NOT ALRIGHT!" Lily was panting after this loud spiel and she was giving Snape her best glare.

"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Snape frantically whispered.

"Who will hea-" Lily stopped suddenly. Then, she had it – kidnapping, ropes, Forbidden Forest. But no – it couldn't be!

"You did it, didn't you? You bloody well joined You-Know-Who! How could you? I can't believe this! I trusted you despite your dickhead attitude – but now this! Yo – you _Death Eater_!"

Snape's face was crestfallen as he looked down at the earthen floor.

"You could never understand, Lily." He started, looking un into her emerald eyes. "After you abandoned me… I – I only had Mulciber and his likes to be with. Then, I met the Dark Lord. He promised me power. Oh, the things he taught me, Lily – you could never imagine…"

Lily stared at her former friend with dumbfounded disbelief.

"Why did you do this to me, then?" She asked quietly.

"Don't you realize? It's because of _him!_" Snape spat out. "The Dark Lord wants all of the Potters gone. Congratulations, Lily, James Potter did this to you."

"He didn't, _you _did! James is important to me! We love each other – something you'll never know about." Lily replied with malice.

Snape grabbed her shoulders roughly and shook her. "Don't ever say that! You don't –" He quickly let her go and stood up, turning his back to her.

Lily realized this was her chance to get away. Plus Snape had left her wand on the ground next to her! Ha! Lily reached out slowly and grabbed her wand, sticking it into her pocket.

Lily jumped up and ran for it. She could hear Snape scream behind her, she didn't care. She ran behind a tall tree and took out her wand.

"Point me." She whispered. The wand pointed north somewhere behind her, that meant Hogwarts was to her left. She ran for it, knowing her ankle was screaming in protest, but Lily didn't pay any attention. She just cast a quick numbing charm at her ankle, half making it to her target. The pain didn't go away. She just ran.

Lily knew Snape was on her tail. She heard thudding footsteps running behind her and then a crimson-colored spell hit a nearby tree. Lily let out a short scream, but didn't stop running.

Oh, when did the forest end?

* * *

"And you think that man runs a SCHOOL!"

"Now, now, Prongsie, please to be calming down." Sirius said to his friend.

"_Calm down?_ CALM DOWN! My girlfriend's just been _kidnapped_, the principal of this so-called _school_ is apparently 'checking it out', it's all _my_ fault,and you all expect me to calm down?" James shouted back at his friend.

James was running over the grounds. Anger was billowing off of him like steam. His once-sparkling hazel eyes were now fiery balls of fury. Hagrid's hut was steadfastly approaching. It was all Sirius could do to keep up with him.

"Well, not exactly." Sirius said. "I was thinking more like turn the red-hot boiling pot of anger down to a simmer."

James ignored him.

"Hagrid! _Hagrid!_ HAGRID!" James shouted at the top of his lungs at the small hut next to the pumpkin patch. "Oh for Merlin's sake, _HAGRID!_"

"'Old ye horses, I'm cummin'!" a voice yelled back from inside the hut."

A huge, portly man stepped out through the creaky door and down the rickety steps to come face-to-face with still-boiling James and a worried, but hard-looking Sirius. The half-giant's eyes widened in shock.

"James, Sirius," he started cautiously "What are yer do-"

"Hagrid, what happened?" James couldn't stop the malice from escaping his voice.

The gamekeeper sighed, "I told yer _and_ Professor Dumbledore, I can't remember. Me an' Lily were in the pumpkin patch and then suddenly I passed out – and then some nice ol' Hufflepuffs found me there and woke me up. I ran into the school, and you know what 'appind after that."

James suddenly turned and jogged to the right towards the pumpkin patch. He noticed the a few particular pumpkins were smashed and their insides were splattered over the ground. After studying the indentations in the earth for a moment, James saw that one appeared to be stomped on, and another Hagrid probably fell on. But the other just had a small indentation by the stem, there was a sparkle in the dirt by that pumpkin.

James looked closer.

Lily's necklace.

"Lily," James sighed and stood up.

A scream was hear somewhere in the forest to James' right. There was a huge burst of silver light and then a thud.

James' eyes widened and he ran into the darkness to where he had heard the screams. He saw a rock, a crumpled figure, and then another body running into the forest.

"LILY!" James screamed. He ran to the crumpled figure

Even in the darkness her hair still sparkled like the setting sun.

"Lils. Come on, Lils. Wake up for James…" she still didn't stir.

"Help…" James whispered into the blackness.

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Wake Up Call**

"You have put shame to the Death Eater name, Snape!" Lord Voldemort hissed and the puny for kneeling in front of him.

"I am terribly sorry, my lord. But I was able to perform a memory charm before she escaped. She will remember nothing." Snape said, looking down at the earthen ground.

"That does not excuse you! We needed the girl to lure Potter here!" he spat out the name like poison. "You have failed me, Severus. _Crucio!_"

And then Snape was lost

* * *

"Vat, 'appened to 'er exactly?" Shayla was sitting at the foot of Lily's bed with a very worried expression.

"Kidnapped." James said for what seemed like the millionth time that hour. He was only able to manage that word. He was silent the rest of the time.

Shayla's eyebrows snapped together. Lily had become one of her best friends since she had arrived in this strange new school. It was torture to watch her lie motionless on the thin hospital wing mattress.

Her skin was paler than usual, which gave her a ghostly look. Blue veins showed through her eyelids and her lips had lost all color. Worst of all there was a huge bruise stretching from her cheek all the way down to her shoulder and continued further down, under her hospital gown. Madam Pomfrey was getting an ointment to remove it.

"By 'oo?"

"No one knows. But I _will_ find out. And when I do, he and/or she will pay in blood and… and…" Jill's voice drifted off and she couldn't go on.

Remus hugged her tightly. "Shh… Shh… it's alright, sweetie."

"Vill she be alright?" Shayla asked with her voice ill-at-ease.

"They say she's just sleeping." Sam replied with the same tone of voice. Shayla could see her grip Sirius's hand tighter.

"Who vould do zis 'orrible zing?" Shayla asked, a little anger slipping into her voice. She scooted closer to Peter, who was sitting on a chair next to her. He seemed very tense, she noted mentally.

Everyone let out an all-out sigh, but no one replied to her question.

"Great. I have the stupid detention with McGonagall." Peter said timidly.

"S'alright, mate, you can go." Sirius said with a failed attempt at a smile.

"I don't wanna leave you guys…" said Peter.

"Go on, mate. We don't want McGonagall angry." Remus said.

"I vill valk you." Shayla offered, standing up with Peter and beginning to depart.

Shayla paused and turned back to the group and bit her lip and she gazed at Lily's still form. "Please tell me vhen she vakes up."

"Of course." Sam replied with a sad smile.

Shayla smiled for a flickering moment before her expression returned to a placid expression. She grabbed Peter's hand and they exited the hospital wing together.

"Eet ees so 'orrible vhat 'appened too her." Shayla said in a huff.

"It is." Peter replied softly.

"Ees something bozering you?" Shayla asked.

Peter's eyes widened, and Shayla was afraid to push him further.

"You are just bozered by Lily being in _l'hôpital, oui_?" She said.

He just nodded wordlessly.

Shayla knew something was going on with her boyfriend, but she couldn't figure it out. But she sure was going to confront him about it later.

* * *

"Peter!" Shayla called down the hallway. "I vas outside ze door. Did you not see me?" She ran and caught up with the halted boy.

"Sorry, Shayla, I missed you there." He replied, and they continued walking. "I have to go, actually."

"Vhere are you going?" She asked.

"Um… I have to go meet some people." He replied nervously.

Her face brightened, "James, Zirius, and Remus? May I go wiz you?"

"Uh, no – not them. And you can't go!" he said quickly.

Shayla let out an exasperated sigh. She stopped alking and put her forehead in her hand. She looked at Peter. "Vhat is ze matter wiz you? You never spend time vith me anymore!" her face hardened, "Fine! Go meet zeez people! If you do not like me anymore, you could have zaid zo!"

"No, Shayla, that's not–" he started, but she ran off.

"_Laissez-moi seul! Vous garçon mauvais!_"

And that's when Peter finally realized his fatal mistake.

* * *

James was in a haze. It was four o'clock on the morning and he couldn't muster thw will to sleep even a wink. He wanted to make sure that he was there when Lily finally awoke. As if the heavens read his thoughts, Lily let out a soft groan.

"Lily are you awake?" James said softly, but excitedly.

"James?" she whisperd quietly.

"Yeah, Lily I'm here, how do you feel?" James asked with a concerned voice. She groaned once again.

"Like I've been hit by a truck," She opened her eyes, and slowly, but surely, James could once again gaze into brilliant emerald green.

"You have no idea how great it is to see your eyes again." James grinned.

"James what happened?" she asks. He sighed.

"You were kidnapped don't you remember?"

Lily looks confused "Kidnapped? Yeah right James, I was just at Hagrid's picking weeds."

James sighed, "Lily that was yesterday." Lily's eyes widen in surprise.

"Why don't I remember it?"

"Professor Dumbledore was afraid they would have cast some sort of advanced dark, irreversible memory charm."

Lily was silent for a few minutes.

"All I can remember is something about you, and a flash of light." She told him. James slumped and rested his head in his hands. "What's the matter?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm just so glad you're okay, when I find out who did this they are gonna wish they never laid eyes on you!" James exclaimed angrily.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sam and Jill coming into the hospital wing "LILY! You're okay!" they exclaimed excitedly in unison and ran over to Lily's bed.

"Merlin, guys! What are you doing here? It has to be, like, the time everyone should be asleep."

"You think we could sleep with you like this?" Jill said with a smile.

"Yeah, honestly, Lils, how could you think that?"

They all laughed.

Sirius burst through the door of the hospital wing "Prongs I think you should get some sleep." Then he saw Lily was awake "Lily-flower! You've returned from La-La Land!" he bent over and kissed the top of her head. "Prongs here has been worried sick about you, he spent the whole night here." Lily looked at James."

"You didn't have to do that James, I would have been alright" she said.

"I wanted to and I didn't know that you were gonna be alright." James said softly.

Lily smiled "I love you." she whispered to him.

James smiled back at her, "I love you, too." he whispered back. They kissed for a brief, tender moment.

Lily looked around.

"Where's Remus, Peter and Shayla?" she asked.

Sirius and James said, "Full moon." at the same time.

Sirius continued, "I just got back from the shrieking shack actually. You know, sleeping in wolf form, Remus actually looks kinda cute. He's like a sort of curled-up sleeping baby. I don't know where Wormtail and Shayla are? Has anyone seen them lately?"

* * *

_**A/N:** Hey fellow Potterfiles! As you can see, it only took us around one day to update! Yes, we're quite proud of ourselves. They should be more frequent now that school's started and we're into the routine. Hoped you liked the chapter!_

**R/R in this case does not mean rest and relaxation - it means read and review! Or... if you're really dedicated: Review and Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Adventures with Pooky**

"It's great to have you back, Lily. I mean, it was only for, like, a day, but we hadn't even realized how you hold us together. Emotionally, I mean. Because if you like, held our body parts together… well, that would just be nasty."

"Thank you so much for the mental picture, Jill."

"Well, there was this awkward silence and no one was saying anything and I just felt weird. And you guys all know how I get during awkward silences because it just makes it more awkward cause I start babbling and babbling and babbling and no one has the heart to sto –"

"Jones!" Sirius yelled.

"Yes?" Jill replied, smiling.

"Put a cork in it!"

Jill crossed her arms in a huff.

Everyone burst out laughing. Jill just looked around, confused for about a minute before she caught on and began to protest. But she saw how happy everyone was and just started giggling. Before anyone knew it – the entire Hospital Wing was echoing with the fits of hysterical laughter coming from the six people at bed number five.

"Anyone have the time?" James asked.

"Stop joking around, silly! No one _has_ the time!"

"Ha, funny, Padfoot," James said in a monotonous voice.

"It's almost Seven." Sam said, looking at her watch.

James groaned. "I haven't slept in twenty-four hours."

"What?" Lily cried in outrage.

"Nnflghhhh! No loud noises, if you please." James said in a pained voice, rubbing his temples.

"James Potter you are going to that bed," Lily motioned to her left, "Getting under the covers and sleeping!"

James was too tired to argue, so he did exactly as his girlfriend had told him to do, and before anyone knew it, James's soft snores were drifting through the air.

The sound comforted Lily more than anyone could ever know.

"Lils, you should be sleeping too, or else Madam Pomfrey will never set you fre – I mean, release you… hehe." Jill said sheepishly.

"She says it's just my ankle keeping me here. It was already broken, and it somehow damaged it further… most likely by running away from whoever kidnapped me." Lily told them.

"Well, we all know you're strong, Lily-Flower." Sirius said, smiling.

"Well, I can't sleep anyway. Not without…" Lily caught herself before she continued and blushed.

"Without what?" Sirius queried, confused.

Jill and Sam met each others' eyes. "Pooky." They said in unison.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "_Pooky_?"

"Oh… it's, um… just…" Lily started, timidly. She then realized that she wasn't getting out without an explanation. "This stuffed monkey I've slept with every night since I was three. I can't seem to sleep without him."

Sirius nodded, hiding a smirk beneath his hand. "Well, if you need this… _Pooky_, I would be, erm, happy to fetch him."

Lily's eyes brightened. "Would you, Sirius?"

He smiled. "Of course, Miss Evans, I will dance right off and retrieve sacred Pooky for yourself at once!"

He jumped up and flounced off down the isles making all three girls giggle.

Five minutes after he left, Sam smacked her forehead with her palm. "Merlin, he can't get up the girls' dormitory steps! Oh no. I'll go after him."

Sam made her way to the exit, shining blonde tresses waving behind her.

* * *

Sirius gave the Fat Lady the password, ("Wormwood") said a quick "Good Morning!" and walked into the portrait hole with a bright smile on his face. 

The common room was empty, as it should have been that early on a Sunday, so at the foot of the girls' staircase he transformed into Padfoot and trotted up the stairs happily. He transformed back into a human when he reached the door of the Seventh Year Girls dorm.

He heard muffled sobs coming from the dorm. Concerned and cautious, he opened the door.

"Hello?" he said softly. But he saw none other than Shayla Divine sitting on the floor in front of the fire crying hysterically.

"Oh my god! Shay! What's wrong?" he exclaimed.

Shayla looked up at him with brilliant violet eyes brimming with tears. "Oh Zirius, I broke up vith Peter!" she sobs more.

Sirius looks shocked "What? Why?" He pulled her up off of the ground and set her on the bed.

"He vas 'iding zomething from _moi_, and 'ee never vanted to be vith me anymore! I zink 'e stopped liking me!"

"Oh Shay I'm sure that's not true!" Sirius protested.

"_C'est vrai!_" Shayla exclaimed, more tears streaming freely down her cheeks.

"I have no idea what you said, but Peter was crazy about you! And who wouldn't like you? You're such a beautiful girl." Sirius voice was soft and comforting.

"Eet ees true, but you make me feel zo much better Zirius, zank you." She kisses him on both cheeks. "Zat is custom back in _Pari_."

"No problem." Sirius said, his hands were becoming clammy

The two stared at each other for a long second. She looked so beautiful, even when she was crying. He couldn't…

Shayla pressed her lips up against his. The door opened.

"Sirius? How'd you get up he-" Sam stopped with a start when she saw what was happening.

Sirius and Shayla broke apart quickly with a loud _pop!_ And Sam gasped.

"Sirius! How – what! How could you!" Her face quickly turned beet red and she ran over to the nightstand and grabbed a brush. She flung it with all of her might at Sirius's head, but he cried out in pain when it hit his shoulder.

Quickly she grabbed a stuffed monkey off of a bed and screamed, "I knew you were a player! You untrustworthy, bloody bastard!" She ran out of the door as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Samantha!" he called after her, but she was already gone.

"_Non! C'est horrible! Il ne s'est pas produit!_" Shayla said in rapid French. "Oh Zirius, I am zoooo zorry! _Je regret!_ I do not like you in zat way! I did not mean to!"

"I know, I didn't mean to either, but - oh Shay! What am I gonna do?" It had just hit him what he had just done, and what he had just lost.

* * *

_**A/N:** Hey Everyone! Hope you liked the chapter! Next one should be up pretty soon. Sorry about everyone breaking up..._

**Don't forget to review! Because I'm running out of thins to put in bold at the end of each chapter...**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Recovered and Lost**

Samantha ran blindly through the halls, hot tears streaming down her cheeks and getting caught in locks of her honey-blonde hair.

She could feel the pounding of her broken heart in her head. It seemed that her body was focusing on pumping all blood to her face and cheeks because she felt them burning like fire.

Any coherent thought that even passed through her mind was immediately shut out by the embarrassment, sadness, and betrayal that she was feeling. She was outside of the Hospital Wing when she tripped and fell onto her knees. Unable to muster any sort of strength she collapsed there, wracking sobs taking her over.

People thought she was strong; Samantha Brown, the independent, beautiful, forceful girl to be reckoned with. That was why everyone thought she was such a perfect match for Sirius Black. It seemed she was the only girl in the school who had the attitude and temperament (not to mention beauty) to rival and compete with the most dashing and out-of-control Marauder.

But she wasn't. The truth was that she was weak. At that moment more than ever, she was just a feeble body in the rough world. Her heart had always been fragile. That was why she never held on to any relationship for too long; become too attached could only mean pain.

But then she had met Sirius…

He had seemed so different, so… special. It was as if the day she had kissed him for the first time she was pushed and spun around in an endless whirlwind of frenzied happiness. Everyday there was confusion, but that was how she liked it. And that was what made her different from Lily and Jill.

She enjoyed never knowing what Sirius would do next because he was so unpredictable. She thrived off of the feelings her stirred within her, the love that had been awoken.

Little did she know that it was all a misleading quest that ended nowhere.

Sirius had taken her, loved her, and then threw her out like a used tissue. Why didn't she see his disloyalty? Of course she had suspicions when it all started, but she had pushed them aside because of how wonderful he had made her feel.

But now it was all gone.

"What in the world is going on–" Jill poked her head out of the heavy arched doorway. But one glance at her crushed friend on her knees made her gasp.

"Sam…" Jill stood next to her friend wide-eyed. First thing was first, though. Neither Lily nor James needed to know about this right now, so she grabbed Pooky off of his forsaken place on the cold floor and rushed him into thee hospital to Lily, who seemed to fall asleep as soon as he was in her arms.

Running back out the door and shutting it as softly as she could she turned to gaze upon Samantha, who was still sobbing uncontrollably.

Jill knelt down next to her and enveloped her in a hug only a best friend could give. She murmured soft nothings to her friend. "Shh… Shh… Everything's alright… Don't worry about it… Shh… It's alright… I'll make it better…"

Sam's sobs receded after an endless moment. And she just collapsed into her friend, moaning tragically into Jill's shoulder.

"Shh… Sam, what happened?" Jill asked comfortingly.

"Sirius, h-he – Shayla – Oh Jill! What am I going to do? He was all I had! Everything…" A small sob escaped her.

"It's okay, Sam. What did Sirius do?" Jill asked as she rubbed soft circled into Sam's back.

"Sirius was kissing Shayla in our dormitory." Jill's heart skipped an unnoticed beat. She was shocked.

"What do you mean? He was all you had?"

Sam took a few deep, shuddering breaths.

"We loved each other." Sam breathed out softly.

Jill shook her head in disbelief. Sirius would have done that in a million billion years. It was a simple fact. Even back all of those months ago, when she was posing as Sirius's girlfriend, she knew how deeply he cared fro Sam. Every time she passed, with every fleeting thought that held her in it, his eyes held a sort of sparkle of passion behind them.

"Sam, come on." Jill told her and helped a grief-stricken Sam off of the floor.

Sam followed Jill blindly through the halls. She didn't care where she was being led. At that moment, You-Know-Who could have stormed the castle and she would still have that pit feeling of indifference that seemed to be set within her.

She vaguely noted a large portrait of fruit and some bustling house-elves serving breakfast to the Hogwarts student body. Then all she could remember was a soft blanket and a warm drink trickling down her throat.

Jill watched as Sam sat before the fire. She looked completely miserable wrapped in a blanket, sipping a large mug of warm butterbeer. Her face was tear-stained and flushed and her normally confident posture was gone – replaced by slumped shoulders.

Sirius would never have done this – nor Shayla either. Plus, what in the name of Merlin had happened to Peter? Shayla had adored Peter, and Jill never thought of her as the type of person to cheat on anyone.

Jill would get to the bottom of this.

* * *

The portrait hole swung open and Jill stormed into the common room. She scanned the room for any sign of Sirius or Shayla, but it was empty. So, Jill jogged up the girls' staircase and halted outside of her dormitory. She gave the door a stern look and then placed three loud, firm knocks on the door.

Jill didn't wait for an answer, but briskly walked into the room.

Sirius slumped on a bed. His elbows were on his knees and his head was in his hands. Shayla sat next to him, rubbing his back in comfort.

"Alright, what did you do to Sam? I have never seen her cry so hard in my entire life – I've never seen _anyone_ cry so hard in my entire life!" Jill put her hands on her hips and stared down the both of them.

"It was a mistake." Sirius told her softly.

Jill's eyebrows rose. "Right, and _kissing _is always a huge mistake. I would have never thought it of you Sirius – and Shayla. We trusted you! But Sirius, I have never been so shocked. You _loved_ her. She loved you. You disappoint me."

"_Don't,_" Sirius said through clenched teeth,"say that."

"_C'est bon, mon ami. Un moment_." Shayla stood up and walked over to Jill. "You vill sit and 'ear our story."

"I will do no such thing." Jill said.

"_Sîl te plaît. _Please." Shayla's violet and green eyes bore into Jill's brown ones. She was pleading.

Jill let out a small sigh and sat down on the bead opposite the one Sirius was sitting on. "Alright, explain."

"Okay, so here's what happened." Sirius jumped up and started pacing. He knew this was the only opportunity to explain once and for all.

"I turned into Padfoot to get up the girls' staircase and then I turned back to find the room." Sirius continued, "I heard Shay crying, so I went in and asked what was wrong. Apparently she and Peter broke up and I made her feel better. Then, she thanked me by kissing me on both cheeks, just like everyone does in France. Okay, so then… well, it was an accident, really – we kissed. But it didn't mean what it means when I kiss Sam. I swear to Merlin, _it was an accident!"_

Jill and Sirius started into each others eyes; Jill with scrutiny and Sirius with a pleading look.

"Okay," Jill said, "I believe you."

Both Shayla and Sirius let our huge sighs of relief.

"But why did Shayla and Peter break up?" Jill asked.

"I do not know myself. Peter, 'ee was keeping secrets from me. I thought that 'ee did not like me anymore." Shayla told her.

"Well, I'll have Remus and James knock some sense into Peter when James wakes up, but for now, you," she turned to Sirius, "need to talk to Sam."

* * *

"Oh, Sam…" Sirius said to himself.

He watched her as she lay in an oversized armchair before the crackling fire in the kitchens. Under the invisibility cloak he was unnoticed by the house elves, who at that point were serving lunch to students.

She was sleeping. She looked miserable even in her slumber, as if everyone in the world had left her alone. In a way, he supposed that was true; she had thought he was unfaithful to her. Giving a mental sigh, Sirius let the cloak drop into his hands. Swinging it over one arm, he timidly made his way over to her chair and knelt down next to it.

He took her hand in his, kissing her palm softly and whispering her name. She awoke with a start. At first she looked confused, as if she had no idea where she was, but then the confusion turned to crestfallenness.

Sam realized that someone was holding her hand and turned to her right. When she first saw Sirius, she looked shocked, but then she looked hurt, and finally she turned to the anger that Sirius had expected.

"What do you want?" she snapped. Se wrenched her hand away from his grasp and crossed them in front of her chest.

"Ten minutes," he said "to explain."

"Why?" she half-screamed, "Wouldn't you rather be with Shayla? Give me one reason why I should give you ten minutes, Sirius."

"See, that right there is why." He told her. He stood up and started pacing. "Shayla and I snogging? That was a mistake, and you got the wrong impression."

"In my opinion, kissing only leaves one impression, and that's the one I got." Sam said.

"But, you see… well, here's the thing–"

"Just leave me alone." Sam interrupted. "I was wallowing."

"Why are you so fixated on me cheating on you – which, you know, I wasn't – why?" he asked.

"Because," Sam started, "I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

Sirius looked at the floor. "Shayla and Peter broke up. I was making Shay feel better 'cause she was crying like crazy. She kissed me on both cheeks because that's a custom in France for saying thank you. The snogging was an entire accident. You walked in at the worst possible moment."

Sam stood up and stared Sirius straight in the eye. "Really?"

Not leaving her gaze, Sirius gave a firm nod. "Yes."

Sam's crystal blue eyes, which had moments before been firm and unwavering suddenly spilled over as she let out a single, quiet sob.

Sirius immediately enveloped Sam in a loving embrace. He didn't care as he held her tightly and her tears stained his shirt. All he cared about was that he had Sam back. That was all that mattered.

Jill looked at them from her discreet placement at the kitchen. She mulled over the funny thought that she acted alone as the first (and hopefully last) _Team Sam/Sirius_. She chuckled to herself and turned to leave, glancing one more time at the couple she had restored.

* * *

James Potter sat on the roof of the astronomy tower. He was watching as the rays of the noon sun played across the faces of various different Hogwarts students. He couldn't help but feel strangely distant from all of those people. _They_ had parents. _They_ had ordinary relationships. _They_ didn't get their girlfriends kidnapped by some Death Eater working on Voldemort's orders.

It was strange.

A month ago James would have laughed at his parents dying. But now… Now it had happened.

His parents were always so strong. His father looked just like James – except for a moustache. He was the best defense caster the wizarding world had ever seen. And as for Mrs. Potter… she was an enigma. She was so beautiful and proud. She was always there to help James with anything at all – when she wasn't defending the world alongside her husband, of course.

And they were gone forever – lives taken by none other than Lord Voldemort. James's jaw clenched just thinking about that evil man. No – he wasn't even a man. He was a monster. Voldemort had taken away everything he had held dear. His family and the sense of security that he thought was there while he was at Hogwarts.

There was a spy at the school – there had to be. Who else would have known and been there to kidnap Lily. Lily being kidnapped was a laughing matter a month ago. But that was the problem – it was a month ago. James rested his head on his knees.

Lily.

It was all his fault that she was sleeping in the Hospital Wing instead of out dancing in the sunshine with everyone else. Voldemort was after the entire Potter line. James's parents were first and now he had used Lily to get to James. Lily had been kidnapped just because James's last name was Potter.

It was crushing him.

It was all his fault.

8

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey readers! Sorry it took so long, but there's this thing called school, and it's been hectic at the least. Not to mention weekend Marching Band competitions for one half of this duo (the Kiki half). Anyway, the chapter is here at last, rejoice in it._

Emily: Kiki! Why did you write James like that - he's emo! If you want to make him emo, make him cut himself!

Kiki: James Potter does not cut himself, Emily!

Emily: Well he should, the way he's written...

Kiki: Deal with it.

_LOL. Ok guys, James_ does _seem kinda emo, I have to say. What do you think of how his emotions are written into the story?_

**Review - I'm begging :'(**


	22. Authors Note

Hey guys sooooooooo sorry we haven't updated in forever we've been busy but to tide you over until the next chapter we're including a Harry Potter Christmas carol written by us 2 years ago! It's to the of Holly Jolly Christmas Enjoy!

Have a holly jolly Harry Day   
It's the best time of the year   
I don't know if Snape's been bad   
But have a cup of cheer 

Have a holly jolly Harry Day   
And when you walk down Hogsmeade   
Say hello to Hermione and Ron   
And everyone you meet   
Oh Cho, the mistletoe   
Hung where she can see   
Somebody wait for Harry   
Kiss Ginny once for me

Have a holly jolly Harry Day and in case you didn't hear

Oh my molly have a holly jolly Harry Day this year!

Did you love it, hate it? We want to know! Review!


	23. Chapter 22

_Remember us? Sorry it took so loooooooong, but... Um, yeah, here we are with the FINAL chapter of "Winning Her Love." Yes. FINAL. The end. Fin. Cette histoire est de finition, as Shayla would put it. So without further ado..._

**Chapter 22: The Kidnapping of Pooky**

_Sigh._

_Ssssssiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggghhhhhhhhhh._

_SIGH._

"Oh, in the name of Merlin, Shayla, stop it already!" Jill yelled. They were in the Gryffindor common room and had been there for quite some time.

Shayla was in a trance-like state. Her head was in her left hand as she watched the fire crackle and burn. Every few minutes she would let out a distressing sigh, and Jill, who was peacefully reading next to her, got very annoyed after a while.

"I am very sorry." Shayla said to Jill, looking sad. "But I cannot help but to zink of Peter…"

"You need to stop this." Jill said firmly. "I mean, at this rate, you'll develop Chronic Sighing Disorder!"

Shayla chuckled. "Vhat ees thees, deesordre?

"Don't laugh – it's a serious matter. Do you know what happens to people with Chronic Sighing Disorder?"

"_Non_."

Jill shook her head and closed her book. "Well… you see. Chronic sighers get chapped lips… and dizzy spells, too! _And_ they can't climb to high altitudes, like mountains because they're wasting all of their oxygen feeling _sorry for themselves!"_

"Oh, but I am sorry for this. Eet ees just zat Peter – I cannot stop zinking of heem." Shayla digressed with another sigh.

"See? Now you don't even know you're sighing!" Jill exclaimed, "You know where people like that end up? Well I'll tell you – they end up in those padded foam rooms in straight jackets where they keep crazy people!"

_Sigh._

Jill hit her forehead.

"And _I_, my friend, will be in the next room over because you are driving me crazy!" Jill thought, "Now that I think of it, those foam rooms might not be so bad… all warm and comfy… I think it might be worth getting injected every few hours…"

Shayla smiled, "Oh Jeel, you do make me laugh zo."

Jill opened her book again. "It's what I'm here for, Shay."

* * *

"Wormtail, I hear you have been fraternizing with a pretty French girl in your house." Voldemort sneered at the kneeling boy before him.

"My lord… this girl – a most wonderful girl, my lord..."

"_Crucio!_" Peter's screams pierced the cold, night air as he writhed in excruciating pain on the dirt ground.

Voldemort lifted the spell and smirked at Peter's shaking body she he tried to kneel on one knee again. "I am quite sure she is, Wormtail… However," Peter quivered, "Death Eaters do not interact with anyone outside of our midst… look at Lucius and Narcissa, they are a most perfect match. And we all know how Narcissa supports our… views."

"My lord, please…"

"Enough, Wormtail!" Voldemort shouted. "If you wish to be with this girl, bring her to me. I will give her a choice. If she does not accept this invitation into our group, the consequences will be… severe – as they will be if you do not bring her." He smirked again at Peter's horrified expression.

"I do hope you chose this girl wisely."

* * *

"Agh! James, stop staring at me, I have to finish revising these Transfiguration notes and then I have to go to the library and look up some Charms things that I'm missing… I bet it was Sam, you know she never studies until the night before a test, and she steals all of my notes and it really messes me up because I had them all organized. Oh my god – just two more tests left can you believe it? I mean, it's actually quite sad when you know that it's our last academic thing we'll ever do at Hogwarts… Oh Merlin, it _is _very sad, isn't it? After this we'll have careers and… my lord I can't even think of it." Lily took a breath after this long spiel.

James couldn't help but smile. Lily always talked really fast when she was nervous. She also bit her nails which, even though a tad unhygienic was a cute little thing she did.

"Do you have the time?" Lily asked.

James looked at his watch. "It's half past five."

"What!" Lily exclaimed. "I am so behind schedule! I – I have to go and find Sam and get my notes back because there's no time to go look it up now. Merlin – oh Merlin!" Lily shot up out of her seat in the Gryffindor common room and in a harried frenzy gathered up the five textbooks and countless pieces of parchment she had brought there.

As Lily started to make for the portrait hole, James shot up and stopped her. He snatched the books from out of her arms and set them back down on the table. She protested loudly and he half-carried her to the couch in front of the fire and sat her down.

"Lily." James said firmly. She stopped her protests and looked at him. "Lily, I know you're nervous and worried about your test and sad that it's all ending, but, honey, you have got to relax! I know for a fact that you studied those same Charms notes that Sam stole three days ago, so just let her have them. You could repeat every single note you took in both Transfiguration and Charms word-for-word backwards. Let's just – can we just be together before we have to go?"

"Go where?" Lily asked, but James only kissed her.

It was a sweet escape from the pressure that James had been feeling lately. While he felt that every moment he spent with Lily only put her in more danger, he still could not deny that he loved her. And who knew how much time he had with her before…

* * *

James took a long look around his darkened dorm room. He could hear three different snores coming from the three other beds in the room. Remus' was soft, but still distinguishable. Peters' was loud and unpleasant at first, but it had grown on James over the seven years he had slept with it. As for Sirius… his was just loud… but there were silencing charms for that.

His watch read one o'clock. James never thought he'd be leaving Hogwarts this way, like this. Sneaking away from his friends so that he'd avoid admitting… well, they were better off without him there to put their lives at risk. Going into hiding alone was the best choice… for everyone.

He quickly turned and left the room, closing its doors for the last time ever. In the hallway leading up to the girl's dormitories, James changed into Prongs. He galloped up the winding staircase with barely a sound. He changed back to himself and walked to Lily's dorm. A picture of Lily, Sam, Jill, and Shayla was posted on the door. It was taken right after they had exited from their final exam. In the picture Jill kept tickling Sam and Lily was smiling. Shayla bending over from laughter and then came back up and smiled, giving her hair a little flip as she did. James could not help but feel warm and happy as he looked at the scene.

Sighing, James opened the door and tip-toed into the room. He found Lily's bed second on the right. There was a picture of them both together by the lake on her nightstand. This saddened James a great deal as he looked at it. Maybe it was not the right choice to – no! No, it must be done.

James breathed in and out. He pulled a letter from his pocket and opened the curtains to Lily's bed. She looked so peaceful when in slumber. Her face was calm and he lips were slightly curled up at the ends in a small smile. Forcing himself not to think how much he'd miss her, James just placed the letter next to her.

Something Lily was holding caught his eye. It was a little stuffed monkey. James let out a soft chuckle. How sweet this was. He had a sudden thought. He only had a single picture of Lily to remember her by… He slowly pried the animal from Lily's arms. She stirred , but did not wake up. James closed the curtains, taking one last look at her.

And so James Potter left Hogwarts.

The End.

* * *

**A/N: **_And that would be the end of "Winning Her Love." The Sequel will be coming soon, so everyone keep a look out for it. Again, sorry we took so long for the last chapter, we just couldn't decide what to happen. It's been a great ride, guys, remember to read the sequel!_

**Review! Please! Last chapter, come on, if you enjoyed this story it's the least you could do. **

**In your review, tell us your:**

**1. Favorite Cannon Character**

**2. Favorite Original Character**

**3. Favorite Chapter**

**4. Favorite moment in the story**

**5. A favorite quote**

**Go digging guys, I know for most of you it's been months since you've read the earlier chapters, but it would be really interesting for everyone if you reviewed us this. Love you all!!!**

**♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥**


	24. Authors Note Again

You guys want a sequel right?

Well we have a bunch of ideas but what we really need is a title. If you want to do your part in getting us to put the sequel up faster click that review button and tell us what you think the title for the sequel should be, we'll credit you in the beginning of the story if we pick your title

Thanks so much it'll really help us a lot


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